


Taking It in Stride

by MarionMarionette



Series: Super, Idiots [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Baking, Comedy, Crime Fighting, Hurt/Comfort, Hypnotism, Idiots in Love, Love Triangles, M/M, Mild Gore, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Polyamory, Romantic Comedy, Sibling Rivalry, Slow Build, Slow Romance, Spirits, Superheroes, Supernatural Elements, Superpowers, Supervillains, Threesome - M/M/M, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:09:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 31,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24035626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarionMarionette/pseuds/MarionMarionette
Summary: Evan Longstride is lame. Lame attitude, lame goals, lame powers. But that's far from stopping him from living out his dreams. He'll do anything to achieve them, even if it means messing with the wrong person in the process. Which then leads him to getting caught up in the wrong situation. Which then leads him to catching the eyes of several of the wrong people who, apparently, just want to get him involved in all of their silly little problems.Superheroes are so petty, it seems. And supervillains are fucking TERRIFYING.But even when Evan's world comes crashing down around him because of a small mistake, that's not enough to get him acting like a damsel in distress just yet. He's a Longstride, damn it, and by god is he going to keep striding forward.-Tags to be added as story progresses
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character, Original Male Character/Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Series: Super, Idiots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1733821
Comments: 11
Kudos: 29





	1. What a Joke

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and welcome to another stupidass story! This time it's with superheroes and shit! Three, to be precise. There's more to come but the main focus is just three. And as the series title suggests, yes, they're all idiots.
> 
> This chapter kinda jumps around but I just couldn't stop writing. I'm excited for this story, and I can't wait to get you guys excited for it too.
> 
> Just a heads up before we start, in case you're a bit confused about what the wind spirits look like, picture the yellow pikmin, but with feathery white hair and light blue skin instead of a flower and yellow skin. And beady black eyes. So cute.
> 
> Anyways that's all, enjoy Evan being an idiot!

The world has been and always will be fucked up. Human nature always has been and always will be naturally flawed. But with every rain shower, there's a field of flowers sprouting. With every criminal, there's a neighborhood of normal people.

Well, normal isn't the right word anymore, I guess. It's a lot more nuanced than it used to be. Ever since the year 20XX, every person, old and young, has been endowed with powers that humans used to believe were impossible to achieve. Teleportation, flying, super strength, things that used to only be fathomed in movies or comic books, became the widespread norm several years ago. Over time, they evolved and became more complex. Teleportation became the ability to open portals between two places you've seen before. Flying became the ability to sprout any type of animal wings you needed. Super strength became the ability to mimic the strength of what object you were looking at. Complicated stuff like that.

Naturally, it was only a matter of time until super villains started popping up like wildfires around the world. It was a lot harder to live a normal life. You couldn't go outside without the prospect of being set on fire or flung several thousand feet into the air, you couldn't send your child to school without worrying about them being kidnapped and trained as an evil mastermind, or hypnotized with the intent to murder you when they get home. Mass fear wrecked the globe, and for a long time there was no order. Even martial law failed in some countries. Governments were overrun, crowds were murdered, families were torn apart and chaos kept the world spinning.

Order was returned.. somehow. I don't know, this was like a hundred years ago and to be honest this was the point where I stopped paying attention in history class, cause then it's just boring. Order was returned, the league of heroes was created, new laws were put in place to blah blah blah, there. There you go. There's your world building, that's IT. I'm not your teacher anymore.

But there is one thing in history class that's always sort of interested me. The league of superheroes. Put in place to maintain law and order in the new world. They replaced armies and the police force, now just thousands of people could do the work that originally used to take millions of people. The strongest people in the world with the coolest powers in the world were put in charge of keeping the peace and taking down maniacs who tried to hurt people. They're looked up to, rewarded heavily, live lives of luxury and every day is a new action packed adventure.

Superheroes are everything in this world. We strive to be like them. Ever since I was a kid I'd always wanted to be one. I vowed that nothing would stop me from achieving my goal. And now, years later after working hard and never giving up, I'm proud to say that-

I grew out of that stupid phase and took a step into the real world.

I mean, how would _I_ ever become a super hero? Me, Evan Longstride, who has the most useless power on this entire fucking PLANET! I mean come on! Wind spirits?! I can talk to wind spirits and that's it. That's it?! That's the power that's gonna turn me into a mighty superhero and save people?? That's the power. Look out everybody, here comes Evan and his tiny fucking wind buddies, they're gonna kick your sorry villain ass.

It's just... it's just a fucking joke! I'm a joke. My power is a complete joke.

I mean don't get me wrong! I love the wind spirits. They range from one to five inches tall, they just sorta float around me and keep my company, they have blue skin and beady little eyes and they're super fucking cute, they're FINE. They're just not.. useful!

When I was a kid I didn't know that I'd have this power. My mom's side of the family has had a similar power for generations, they've all been able to talk to some sort of spirit or other. Like creating to fire spirits, being part water spirit, even being able to see and communicate with human spirits. My dad's family, though, they've all been hypnotizers. My dad can lull someone into a sleep-like state with just his voice, and I admire that! That's fucking cool! He could have been a hero if he hadn't been so in love with my mom (they were high school sweethearts, he decided to start a family with her instead of going into the school for the league of heroes).

So then that left me with the stupidest power of all. Talking. To. Wind spirits. I can't even command them!! Not _really_. I just talk to them and they make their cute little cooing sounds and float around a bit and then sit on my shoulder and that's it. I mean, they have powers too. They can control the wind a little bit, but what is wind gonna do?! I'd get if they were water or fire spirits, but wind?? Better watch out, supervillains, you just might make me have to blow you.

Ew- mm, no, pretend I didn't say that.

When I found out that this was all my power entailed, I fucking BAWLED for like a week straight and my classmates made fun of me for it and life was just fucking sad for like eight years until I realized that being a superhero wasn't everything. Well at least.. that was nice. The moment when I snapped out of my stupor and realized I could still lead a full life despite my power, I really was genuinely happy that night.

Anyways, no, I don't want to be a superhero anymore. I have much bigger plans. I'm going to start my own bakery! Lame, I know. Well, lam _er_ than being a superhero, but it really is a nice job, I think. My wind spirits can help, too. Who needs to invest in fans and cooling racks when you've got tons of little pockets of wind to help you out? Eventually I'm going to be famous, as famous as those stupid superheroes. My face will be on billboards, I'll have my own tv show, I'll have my own cookware line, I'll even have-

"Evan! Get the fuck up, you ninja turtle." A heart shaped pillow whacking me in the face knocks me out of my inner monologue and I manage to stop disassociating long enough to sit up and glare at my little sister who just barged into my room. "Mom said you have to go to the grocery store and get her the ingredients for dinner."

I sigh, "What's for dinner?"

"Well nothing if you don't stop daydreaming like a weirdo and make yourself useful for the family." She leans against my door frame with her arms crossed, looking annoyed even as I kick my legs off of my bed and take an uneasy step forward. "Were you drinking last night?"

"What? It's just hard to stand up after laying down for so long."

"You're right, my bad. I forgot you have no friends to drink with."

I roll my eyes. "I don't need friends to go out drinking. Can you just tell me what mom wants me to get for her?" I walk over to my closet to pull out a jacket to throw over myself as she slaps down a slip of paper on my dresser. "That better be a list, or else I'm just gonna get ingredients for nachos."

"Ew, you eat too many nachos. Yes, it's an ingredient list. Mom says you can buy something for yourself but you can't spend more than seven dollars on it." I smile to myself while I zip up my jacket. At least the trip won't be in vain.

As I'm looking for pants to match my jacket, I hear my little sister whispering out into the open, and glance back just in time to see her pillow ominously floating towards her outstretched hands. My sister has the power to persuade spirits. We aren't sure what kind of spirits, we've never actually seen them before, even her, but they exist, and they sometimes listen to what she tells them to do. Like giving her the remote from across the room, or flicking my toothbrush off of the counter and into the toilet before I can grab it. Must be nice to have a useful power I guuuuess.

As I step back from my closet, my eyes land on my little sister, who was previously looking at me like I was a discolored piece of gum stuck to the bottom of her favorite high heel, but is now pouting at me like she's never done anything wrong in her entire 14 years of existence. I almost groan. I know what's coming.

"What's with the look?" I raise an eyebrow. I'm not going to let her get away with it without some begging.

"Can you get me a candy bar when you go?"

"No." I can't fight the smirk that stretches across my face when she deflates and makes a high pitched whining noise.

"Evaaaan, plleeease."

"Didn't you just call me a ninja turtle?"

"Ninja turtles are cool! Evan please. Please please?" By now she's right up to my side, gripping onto my coat for dear life and shaking me back and forth in time with her whines. "Please please please I'll be so thankful pleeeeease!"

It's at this point that my wind spirits decide to wake up and blink into existence around my body, making curious noises and nestling into either my clothes or my hair. I almost smile, then, because they're just so darn cute and it's so hard to be mad when they're around. My little sister, Iyana, takes this as a chance to grab one of my little buddies, though, and begins pouting down at it like _it's_ her older brother. I manage to scowl and say "Hey!" before she runs back to the door frame clutching my precious spirit.

"Iyana, give him back."

She looks back down at the spirit and whines again. "Please convince him to get me some candy..! He listens to you guys, at least..!" The creature in her hands wriggles in her grasp, prompting her to squeeze a squeak out of it and hide it behind her back. "If you don't get me candy I'm going to hide him somewhere where it will be impossible to find him..! And I know you can't get too far from them or they die, so you'd better just give in."

"Are you blackmailing me?" I slip my shoes onto my feet.

"It's just a candy bar!"

"Exactly, it's just a candy bar. Don't kill one of my spirits for just a candy bar..!"

She huffs and turns her head away, curling her lips into a smile while she slowly backs away from the door. I follow her and she takes another few steps back. We freeze, and then I'm chasing her down the hallway while her high pitched laughter rings in my ears like tinnitus. I almost trip on her discarded heart pillow, but then I'm dashing towards her again.

"Iyana, I'm gonna hide _you_ somewhere you're impossible to find..!" I shout, trying and failing to lunge for her as she slips away from my line of trajectory. If only I could get my hands on her long fucking hair, then she'd fucking get it. I regain my footing and lunge after her once more.

Before long, we're dancing around the dining room table, watching each other's movements closely like two predators in a jungle. She takes a step to the left and I follow, I take a step to the right and she dashes to the opposite. We circle one another, glaring. In her hands is my precious spirit, trembling and looking ten seconds away from blinking itself out of existence for good. All around me are the rest, silently cheering me on and hovering just inches from my body like a mini solar system. I'd almost ask them to go ambush her, but then I'm certain she'd snatch all of them up and run with them, and then I'd _have_ to give in. Should I just give in after all? It _is_ just a candy bar, compared to a literal _life_.

I try once more to run to her side of the table, but she just dashes around it, sticking her tongue out like the cat that caught the canary. I'm thinking of ways to outsmart her, debating whether or not I should dive across the table and hope that it catches her off guard enough to stun her in place to make sure I actually land on her, when all of a sudden my dad clears his throat and looks up from his phone, giving me a look that immediately makes me want to apologize and go back to my room. I didn't even notice he was at the table.

"Can you two do this outside? Your shuffling is making me nervous," he says, taking a sip of the coffee resting on the table in front of him. For a second I'm lost in the thought of admiring him. Always so calm even when two nuisances are making his life as hard as possible. He's really something I could never be... But then I'm pulled out of my thoughts when Iyana blows a raspberry at me and clutches the spirit to her chest. I huff.

"Iyana stole one of my spirits and is trying to blackmail me to get her a candy bar!"

"Evan's acting like me asking him for a candy bar is the end of the world and is being a complete asshole!"

"That's not true at all!"

"Iyana, language. Evan, just get your sister the candy bar," my dad interrupts us, a hint of annoyance staining his words. My sister lets out a cheer and I growl and look away, anger turning my vision red. Of course my dad would take her side. Calm or not, my dad always chooses her whenever something happens between us. Cause she's younger and more fragile and stupider, I guess. I just have to live with it, he told me something like that once. Bullshit.

"Dad," I turn to him, an innocent look in my eyes, "I have to drive all the way to the grocery store and pick up groceries, and I only have seven dollars to spend on myself, and two of those dollars will be going to Iyana's stupid candy bar just because she asked for it? It's not fair."

Iyana huffs, "You make me sound like a fucking supervillain, I just want some candy."

"You're taking advantage of dad's kindness despite the fact that you threatened to kill one of my spirits just because you 'want some candy'! And, you didn't do anything to earn that candy, you specifically acted like a butt to me this entire time and now you want to be rewarded for it!"

"It's just a piece of candy!"

"Correct! A piece of candy you can easily go without!"

"Dad, tell him he's being mean for no reason!"

"Dad, tell her she's not entitled to gain from _my_ hard work!"

"Dad, tell him he's an asshole!"

"Dad, tell her she's-"

"Quiet!" my dad snaps. I feel my thoughts immediately go slack and I can tell the same has happened to Iyana from the dull look in her eyes. We look to our dad and he sighs, rubbing his fingers on the bridge of his nose. Everything feels far away but also highly alert while we wait for him to say something else.

He asks me if he told me to get the candy bar for Iyana.

I want to react, I want to fight with him more about what Iyana really deserves, and I can feel anger boiling in my nerves, but my thoughts are just out of reach as I nod and reply with yes, sir.

He turns to Iyana and asks her if he told her to watch her language.

Iyana nods as well and replies with another yes, sir.

He asks us if he's making his words clear.

We both nod and say yes sir.

He's silent for a while as I sway back and forth. I've always hated being hypnotized. It makes me feel like the world is jello and I'll fall down onto my face unless my dad tells me not to. Just another reason not to make him angry. I guess I really messed up this time.

My spirits pull on my cheeks and poke at my scleras, trying to get me to snap out of it. It doesn't work in this instance, though, because then my dad tells me to refill his cup of coffee for him while I'm at it, and all of a sudden I'm turning and heading into the kitchen, being careful not to trip and fall lest I never get up again. The world is far out of reach while I pick up the coffee pot and head back to where he's sitting. By now I can hear the distressed sounds of my confused spirits, who try to blow air into my eyes to get me to blink. Once again, it doesn't work, and I pour out his coffee.

He tells Iyana she should go to the grocery store with me if she wants candy so badly. She turns and walks to her room to get her clothes on. I stand and wait for her, noticing, before my dad does, that my mom is walking towards the table with a look of displeasure scribbled across her face.

Once behind my dad, she raises a hand up and brings it down hard on the back of his head. He loses his concentration and then I'm thrust back into my body at a million miles per hour. I gasp and stumble a bit, holding onto the table for support. God I fucking hate being hypnotized.

"What'd we say about hypnotizing the kids?" my mom hisses, picking up my dad's cup of coffee for some reason.

He rubs the back of his head and groans. "Not unless it's an emergency?"

"And was this an emergency?" her eyebrows raise.

He doesn't answer, instead looking curiously at the mug of coffee in her hand. She raises it and he flinches, probably thinking she's about to pour it on him, but she instead puts it to her lips and takes several long gulps. She then sets the mug down hard, empty. The sadness that comes from my dad is palpable.

"Thanks mom," I say, still trying to recover from the hell that is hypnosis. I blink the dry tears out of my eyes and a few of my spirits wipe the trails from my face, making me smile. Then frown. "Iyana still has my spirit..."

As if on cue, Iyana comes back, fully dressed now, and tosses the spirit at me, which quickly falls back into my orbit and clasps tightly to my coat with a distressed keen. I sigh in relief and once again mutter "Thanks.."

She huffs and crosses her arms. "All because you couldn't get me a candy bar."

"You don't deserve it..!" I groan, almost not wanting to get into this argument again.

"Well," mom interrupts, her hands now on my dad's shoulders and kneading them gently, "wasn't Iyana going to follow you to the grocery store? That sounds like a good compromise, right?"

"Mooom..!" my sister whines, "That wasn't real, that was hypnosis!"

"Well now it's a command. Go with your brother to the store." Iyana once again breaks out another whine, but by now my mom is thoroughly distracted by my dad's lips and vice versa. I look away with a grimace and Iyana fake gags. She looks back up and purses her lips. "That's what I thought. Make another peep, and we advance to making out."

My sister and I quickly shuffle out of the house, not without me grabbing the keys before we open the front door. I can hear my parents' laughter over my own inner screams of disgust. And with that I'm in the car and driving my sister to the grocery store.

It takes us a couple of minutes to realize we left the list and card at the house, then a couple more minutes for us to get back and grab said items and get back to the car, so by the time we reach the store, we're both fairly exhausted and want to get home as fast as possible.

We split up the work, quite literally. I tear the list in half and give her the bottom half, telling her to meet me at the produce section once she's done. Once she's out of sight, I relax a bit and grab a basket, heading down the first isle with high hopes.

As I'm in the isle, the spice isle, I can't help but long for some money of my own. The things I could buy with my own money.. how long has it been since the house has had a drop of nutmeg in it? Cinnamon gets boring after a while. And imagine the cakes I could bake with some pure vanilla extract. The house would smell like heaven for months. I'd bake every weekend and we'd be a happy family again. Maybe my sister would even stop absolutely hating my guts for no reason. The possibilities are endless..!

"When I get money, should I buy vanilla before I buy nutmeg?" I turn my head to address my spirits, who look up at me and then over to the shelf of spices. Some of them tap their chins in thought, while others just go straight to nodding or shaking their heads. In the end, most of them say yes, and I smile. "I'll keep that in mind if I ever get a job."

It's not that I'm not looking for a job, I just haven't found anything that suits my current interests. I can't start out baking right away, my business would flunk immediately, but there's also not many places to work that will give me the experience I need to open my own shop. None of the local bakeries are hiring, and when they do hire, they're awfully biased towards people with powers that can aide them in baking. Which makes sense, of course. Why would they go for someone useless like me who can talk to small, weak creatures when they can hire the experienced woman who has the power to tell when something baking is cooked perfectly? And yes there are some powers out there like that, like I said, it gets very nuanced.

Right now I'm just hoping to get hired as a delivery guy for some fast food chain, if possible. Or a stock boy in a supermarket like this one. Something achievable like that while I work on my baking skill at home with the new income I'm raking in. Until then, though. I pick up the spices on the list and move on to the next isle.

I think my mom's trying to make some sort of curry. Or stew. Maybe she's going to make beef stew. With a hint of curry powder. Mom does sometimes like to shake things up. I don't blame her. She can be the chef if I can be the baker~

I stroll down the freezer isle, idly looking through the doors for the beef my mom wrote down. It takes me way too long to realize that beef is in a section of it's own and not with the rest of the frozen items, and by then my eyes are already caught by something else entirely. My jaw drops and I walk towards what I'm seeing, as if I'm being hypnotized again, but this time for a good reason. For a much, much better reason.

"Guys," I almost gasp, "look." I point to the freezer door, my mouth watering at the sight of the pack of macarons sitting pleasantly just inside of it. The spirits make a pleased sound as my eyes gloss over with absolute adoration. Six flavors, twelve cookies in all, and on sale. I gasp again. Only $5.67?! Six dollars! That's a steal!

Usually, the decadent, french styled sandwich cookies cost twice their quantity. But this pack is not only half, but a _quarter_ of the price?? It must be a work of either god or satan himself. It has to be too good to be true! And yet here they are, beckoning for me to come closer. Begging me to buy them.

I reach for them, then freeze... Six dollars... If I buy them, Iyana will have to get a much cheaper, probably smaller, chocolate bar. And there's no way she's going to give up her chocolate just so I can _indulge_ in my absolute favorite dessert of all time. Seriously, they're just sitting there, ripe for the taking, one pack left, calling out to me. I mean come on! They're chanting my name. Moaning it, even. They were perched here perfectly just for me. I have to have them. But Iyana..

"Fuck," I whisper, earning a few confused chirps from my spirits. "If Iyana hadn't come, I probably could have gotten away with picking these up for myself and getting her a smaller chocolate." Dad was fucking right, I should have just sucked it up and gone by myself.

But I can't just walk past these. I can't! It's a crime! It's murder! It's, it's...

A spirit taps on my cheek and I notice the rest of them have been pulling on my coat, trying to get me away from the cookies. I whine and take one last glance at them, then begin making my way towards the deli isle. Of course it was too good to be true. I should have known. My whole life, the universe has done nothing but prove to me again and again how pathetic I am and how much I don't deserve happiness and pleasure. From my useless power, to my unattractiveness, to even my little sister who hates my guts and wishes nothing but death upon me and my future offspring that will never exist because no one wants to date me. I sniffle.

"I can't even buy almond powder," I complain, "the ingredients to make the cookies is more than the actual cookies." I'm painfully aware that I might as well be talking to myself and that it's earning me weird stares from the shoppers around me, but I don't even have the mental capacity to truly worry about it. My spirits are the only things that listen to me and care about me. I'll talk to them all I god damn want.

I'm in a sad daze as I pick up the rest of the items, then trudge to the produce section and locate my little sister. I guess my sadness is noticeable, because she greets me with, "What, someone tell you your hair is terrible? I told you you should start dyeing it."

I look up and glare at her. My hair is just fine. It's a healthy shade of black. Well, more like a dull shade of black.. it looks gray, almost, and with discolored streaks all throughout it. I have absolutely no idea which parent I got it from, my mom says I get it from her aunt, but it's definitely one of the things that makes me unattractive. It always clashes with my light brown eyes and makes my face end up looking like mud. Iyana dyes her hair blonde and keeps it blonde every three weeks or so. I could never imagine how tedious that must be, so I just put up with it. But that's not the point! No, that's not why I'm sad right now.

I roll my eyes and then plaster another pout onto my face. "I saw some macarons for six dollars in the freezer isle." I poke my bottom lip out and gaze at her through my bangs, trying to look as pitiful as possible.

Her eyes just narrow in response. "I need at least two dollars to buy the chocolate I want." She holds up a bar. "I already picked it out and everything. You have to get something else."

I sigh and look back down, the facade melting off of my face. "Fine, whatever. Not like I really want anything else, though. Macarons are _so_ good."

"So is this!" She holds the bar up to my face again, her smile wide. I can tell she's just teasing but I can't help but feel another wave of genuine sadness wash over me. She always comes out as the victor in the end, it seems.

Her smile falters as she stares at me and I straighten up. "Just forget it," I say before she can tease me again, "I don't really want anything else so you can get more chocolate."

"Well that doesn't make sense," she raises an eyebrow. "Just because you can't get cookies, now you don't want _anything_? You're trying to trick me again."

I shrug. "I'm just bummed out. Hard to want to buy stuff when you're bummed out."

She crosses her arms, giving me a look like she doesn't buy what I'm trying to sell her. "Get over it, it's just cookies. Buy yourself another snack."

"Iyana just get the fucking chocolate, okay? I'm really not in the mood to get something for myself." I shrug again. "This is how I feel. Either buy the extra chocolates or let's get that and go."

We stare at each other for another eternity after that. Her face wearing a look of annoyance and my face wearing a look of listless sadness. At one point I start to feel foolish. I'm really just trying to guilt her again, I can feel it. But I also really just don't want anything. Is that so hard to believe? I wasn't even that stoked to buy myself anything to begin with, she was the one who insisted on getting herself a chocolate. I just didn't want to have to get it _for_ her. It wasn't my fault I didn't feel like wasting mental energy on mulling over thousands of items that I can buy for myself for five dollars. Iyana could just pick out two more chocolates and then that would be perfect. And yet here we were, staring at each other, feeling different emotions together.

At one point, some of my spirits try to pull us in the direction of the register while others give Iyana the same pitiful look I'm giving her. We, once again, get a few weird stares from other patrons, but we're both stuck in our own little worlds during a brief break in time. Until finally she sighs. And looks away.

"I saw another chocolate I wanted for a few cents so just go get the cookies."

I gasp, then shake my head. "No, Iyana, really. It's fine-"

"Go get the cookies! You're so fucking annoying, oh my god. Just accept that I'm being nice for once. You _did_ drive us here after all." She rolls her eyes, but I still manage to reach out and hug her.

"Oh Iyana, you're the best!!"

"Get off of me, fucktard! Just to get your god damn cookies!" She forces me off of her and I accept it, smiling from ear to ear while the spirits dance around me, putting my true emotions on display for everyone else to see. "Just give me your basket, I'll go get in line and put these on the conveyor belt."

I almost have the urge to kiss her on the cheek, but then I get the feeling it'd make her change her mind, so I instead run back to the place in the freezer isle where I saw the precious cookies, praying frantically in my head for them to still be there when I get back.

Sure enough, as if a merciful god was looking down on my sad life and sincerely trying to cheer me up, when I get back to the place where I saw them, _they're still there_.

Heaven's angels, or maybe it's just my spirits, sing while I take a cautious step towards the dessert. Is this really happening? Can this be true? I think I'm crying? This just might be the best day of my life. Already I can feel the crunch of the cookie as I take a slow and savoring bite, can taste the heavenly icing settling and melting onto every inch of my tongue and carrying me off to a paradise I've long wished for.

To be honest, they probably won't be that good, since they're on sale and are in a grocery store in the _freezer section_ , but that's not going to stop me from enjoying every sweet sweet millisecond of it. I almost whimper once the door is open. Yes. Fuck yes. Thank you gods, yes yes yes..!

A hand reaches up to grab the box, except when they're pulled out of the freezer, they're not then pulled into my hands. I blink once, then twice, confused, before looking over to where the bites of heaven have been pulled off to. The unbothered gaze of a man meets me instead, and he blinks as well. His face is partially masked from the hood on the jacket he's wearing, but the parts that I can see are all pointed downwards in what looks to be a scowl. Red eyes peer into my soul with an air of contempt.

I look down at the box clutched in his hands, then point numbly.

"Um, I was just about to grab those.." I barely manage to get out. Somehow the sight of a man much taller and much _scarier_ than me is making me, hm... scared? Is that the right word? It must be. Yeah, scared. As if to accentuate my point, my spirits nuzzle into my body, shaking and whimpering out of fear. So I guess I'm scared too, then. I'm the one who could seriously get hurt too.

The look on his face doesn't change as he looks down at the box as well, inspecting it as if he wasn't aware of what he was grabbing when he was grabbing it. I almost hope that's the case, and that he'll apologize and put it back and pick up the box of cream puffs that was resting beside it, but instead he just looks back up at me and shrugs.

"Sucks. I had it first." He shrugs again, then turns around, and my heart shatters.

"But!" I speak up before I can stop myself, "That's not fair..!"

"Life's not fair, kid." He glances at me over his shoulder once more, then continues his menacing walk. The further he gets from me, the more it feels like my soul is fading into dust.

Just as I thought, the universe will always be taking things away from me and reminding me how much I'm not cut out to exist in it. No matter what I do, no matter how much I want something, no matter how much I work for it, I'll never be good enough to get anything. Not good enough for my sister's respect, not good enough for a job, not good enough for those cookies. I'm just not good enough. Nothing will ever be given to me...

I snort and run after him, then past him, and reach out to snatch the cookies from his grasp. It takes him a second to realize, but by then I'm already sprinting down the isle with my spirits in tow. I glance back at his quickly maddening face one more time and laugh out a quick "Fuck you!" before I turn the corner and disappear from his sight. I hear the sounds of his own heavy footfalls beginning to chase mine, but by then I'm already racing towards Iyana with the box clutched tightly in my arms. She looks up to see me running and then looks behind me, her eyes widening. That only makes my heart beat faster as I skid to a stop in the line she's in.

By now, basically all of the other items are done scanning, so I practically throw the box at the cashier, who gives me a frightened look as she slowly scans it. I snatch it back from her, toss the card at Iyana, who fumbles with it before catching it, and turn to begin running again.

"I'll see you in the car, Iyana, take your time, bye!" And then I'm off. I hear what sounds like a roar while I dash out of the sliding doors and down the parking lot, but by then the roar has died down to a distant growl. I've always been blessed with fast legs, I guess. Or maybe that _beast_ was just too heavy to run as fast as I was. But either way, I think I manage to lose him. I lean against my car, facing away from the store just in case, and try to catch my breath while a smile stretches across my face. Screw the universe, I can do whatever the fuck I put my mind to.

Except become a superhero, of course, but we've gone over this, I don't want to do that anymore.

My spirits all make concerned tittering sounds as they poke and prod several parts of my body, probably trying to let me know that what I did was the stupidest thing ever, but I just sigh and shake my head.

"It was worth it, guys. I couldn't just let these go." I shake my prize in front of my own face, half of me still in disbelief that I managed to get them.

But then I hear, "Oh, I sure hope it was worth it," to my right and my blood runs cold. As I glance over and meet those same piercing red eyes from before, my whole body freezes but starts shaking at the same time. It's a weird feeling. I can't move a muscle but I also can't stop shaking so it's like my whole body is an oxymoron. Oh, and also dead. My whole body is also definitely completely dead.

He takes a step towards me and I snap out of it, backing away from him and into the road. I glance behind me to make sure I won't get hit by a car and ruin this moment of pure tension, then back at him as he's slowly advancing on me. It's hard to think when I'm moments from die, yes die, so I stupidly clutch the cookies to my chest, probably completely breaking several of them in the process.

"I already bought these! You can't take them from me, it'd be stealing."

"I had them first," he _growls_ at me, his voice low.

"Yeah, well," I stutter, gasping slightly, "Sucks. I have them _now_. Life's not fair!" I figured I might as well say something cool in my final moments. Maybe it'll be cool enough for the gods to put me into a better body in my next life.

He growls again and reaches for me. I try to take a step back but his long arm is grabbing onto my collar before I can get away. He yanks me forward, then up, and suddenly my legs are scrambling in mid air and my spirits are practically screaming and dashing around my body in an attempt to dislodge the fabric of my jacket from his grasp. A few of them float up to him and blow into his eyes, trying to surprise him I guess, but he just smacks them away like they're bugs. I gasp.

"Pests," he mumbles, then he turns and before I can tell what's happening, I'm flying through the air and headed straight for a tree. I close my eyes before the impact but that doesn't stop my body from colliding with the unstoppable force in front of me. I think I hear a hard _crack!_ rip through somewhere on my head before I'm falling backwards and the world is swimming around me. I groan but I barely hear it over the constant ringing in my head. I turn onto my side and try to open my eyes. It feels like my soul is leaking out through my ears. Must be what it feels like to die. I guess I expected this..?

I feel, more than I see, a shadow descending over me and a foot resting on my sternum. He pushes down onto my ribs, stepping on me, and I groan louder and try to push his heavy foot off of me. God my body just _hurts_ everything is just _hurt,_ I don't want to die if it hurts THIS much. I can feel my spirits poking at my face again, trying to get me to respond, and I think I've found something I hate worse than hypnotism. Heh. _Dying_.

He moves his foot from my chest and grabs my collar again, lifting me into the air. This time I just let him, laying limp as the fabric of my jacket digs into the saggy parts of my body. My thoughts are foggy and I just feel like crying. This sure escalated quickly.

I put my hand on his and feel him growling again, this time the force of it makes the air around me vibrate. Who _is_ this guy?!

"I _really_ hope that this was worth it," he says again, but this time he winds up his fist like you do before a punch. And I can just tell that it will kill me.

I'm sorry that this story is so short, I just wanted people to know who I was. What I wanted with life. What I did to get to where I got. I wish I could have told you more, but life's not like that sometimes. Especially in this world. This world full of pure evil, but also a world full of good. I wonder if my sister will be sad at my funeral. I wonder who will take my place as the next famous baker. I wonder if my death will split my parents up, even if they love each other so much. I wonder if this could have been avoided.. or are some things just... inevitable.

"Hey." I open my eyes, the world still swimming. "You still alive, kid?" What the hell does that mean? "Don't go dying out on me, I'm not trying to kill you."

Through the pain, a thought still bubbles to the surface of my mind. "No." My voice is raspy and talking makes me feel sleepy. "Just daydreaming."

There's a pause, and then what sounds like a mixture between a dry laugh and a growl, and then his hand is winding up again. "Get your head out of the clouds you annoying, ignorant, IDIOT!" And then a fist collides with my face, and then I fly again, and then I'm laying on the ground. But surprisingly not dead.

But DAMN does it fucking HURT oh my god that HURT so fucking much! How did that hurt worse than the fucking _tree_ oh my god it feels like my entire cheek is on fire and my jaw is across the floor that hurt so fucking bad. The tree just made me feel numb. This just HURTS it feels like LAVA. Pain! So much fucking pain! My everything is on fire and there's definitely blood this time. Pain! Some of my spirits try to land on my face and caress it or whatever, BUT THAT'S JUST MORE PAIN!

"Hey!" A different voice cuts through the pain, startling us both. He turns in the direction of the voice, and I try to, but there's so many black spots in my vision that the world might as well be entirely black, so that sucks. "Leave him alone," I still hear the talking, though. Then there's footsteps, and I hear the sounds of the big guy shuffling as he straightens up and probably glares his best glare at the new person.

I blink a few times, trying to get the darkness out of my eyes, and when I open them a third time, I'm met with a different face, a much kinder, darker one, framed with a head of jet black hair and a smile so gentle I almost relax, but then remember that relaxing would probably mean death for me. I feel a hand on my cheek and revel in the feeling of its coolness against the fire that is the aftermath of getting punched in the face.

"Are you alright, sir?" he asks me. I nod and his smile falters. "Really? Cause you look half dead."

"I've literally never been better," I mumble. My mouth and head feels like it's full of cotton, but that won't stop me from being sarcastic.

He shakes his head and inspects me more, and that's when I notice a second presence beside me. I turn to face the second presence and almost jump straight out of my skin as familiar red eyes meet mine. I have no idea _when_ he got beside me but I don't like it so I'm going to say something about it, if you don't mind.

I raise a shaky finger and point to the mass of _fear_ to my left. "Why he alive." That wasn't what I meant to say but okay.

The kinder man looks back at me, then up at the gentleman to my left, whose eyes narrow but who doesn't say anything. "I don't know what that means," the darker man looks back down at me, "but he's staying because he's probably going to have to pay for your medical bills if what he did to you was that bad."

For a long moment, then, I'm confused. Why would he not be running away, then? No one would want to have to pay for what they did, especially if it was _assaulting_ a person. But here this guy was, sitting obediently like a puppy, but still looking like he could beat both of us up and then kidnap my little sister _and_ get the cookies for himself. Speaking of little sister..

I try to sit up, but am forcefully pushed back down by two sets of hands. I whimper, concern quickly seeping into my bones and making me almost _vibrate_ with worry.

"Iyana.." I try, blinking again as darkness pushes at my vision once more.

"The girl is fine," the kinder man says again, his hand coming back down to gently rest on my face. "She called your parents to come pick her up a while ago, and she went back into the market to wait."

Okay. That's fucking weird. When the fuck did that happen and how the fuck did this guy know?? And also when the fuck did that happen?! Am I missing something? Did I travel through time?

"How.." I gulp, trying to gain words again, "when did she do that?"

This time, it's the scarier man who says something. "While you were passed out."

I blink again.

"How long was I passed out..?"

The other man answered, "About thirty minutes."

Another blink.

"What happened while I was out..?!"

The two men look at each other, then down at me. The kinder man says, "We sorted things out and we'll be taking you to a hospital now." Which makes even _less_ sense. Sort things out how? Why is the other guy so submissive all of a sudden? WHEN DID I PASS OUT?

I fail to find more words, but I manage to take a glance at the world around us. The accursed tree from earlier is no longer where it was before, it's now somewhere else where it definitely shouldn't be. There are several scorch and scratch marks in the grass all around us. My _car_ even has several long scratch marks running along it's side oh my god my CAR.

And then my eyes land on the completely ruined and squished box of macarons. And then I close my eyes and pass out to the sound of my spirits crying into my clothes and hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! As always, comments are highly appreciated! Another chapter will be out quite soon, I think, so stay tuned for that! This story's gonna get real spoicy. Huhuhu- and gay. Also gonna get really gay. As always. Because I'm bad at doing not gay so!
> 
> Thanks for reading and I'll see you when the next chapter is out~!


	2. A Room Full of Tension

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evan wakes up in a hospital and meets the eyes of two familiar men. They say they just want to make sure he's okay, but that doesn't explain why they keep staring at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't tell if this story is moving too fast or not.. I don't think I'm very good at romance, haha! But it's budding, hooray. To these idiots it makes no sense right now, but it's getting there. But just you wait, once we start getting into the action too, it's gonna get really good. And once I start adding more heroes and villains, it's gonna get reaaaaaally good.
> 
> I also wanted to make this chapter longer but it's 4 AM. So I'll just be breaking up the next few scenes. I hope this is still good enough pacing for this scene, though. But stay tuned for more!
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

To say that existence is pain would be an understatement. Existence is more like pain, humiliation, lava, feeling like you're a hundred miles underwater, shame, and also pain mixed up into one emotion. And did I mention pain? Existence is pain. Which is why as soon as I wake up, the first thing I do is try to scream. It comes out as more of a sad and pitiful groan, but at least I tried. And that counts for something in my book.

I would try to sit up, but my body feels like it weighs a thousand pounds and my head feels like a bird is trying to peck and chew its way out of it. I open my eyes and groan again, only to be met with a pair of bright golden eyes staring back at me. I'm frightened for a second and try to open my mouth to ask a question, but all that manages to come out is a squeak and then my eyes are closing again. There's a familiar hand on my cheek then, which makes me relax, but also somehow frightens me more, if that makes sense. A gentle and familiar voice calls out to me.

"Don't try to talk right now, your jaw was dislocated before and is wired shut for now. Plus you're on some heavy pain killers." Ah, that makes sense. I did just get my shit _rocked_ after all. And not in a good way. Memories flood my mind as I recall being flung at a tree and then said tree being flung somewhere else not too long afterwards. I want to say several things, in fact, but as the man said, my mouth no longer works, so that's great. He moves his hand from my cheek and I almost whimper at the lost of its presence.

I feel the faint ripples in the air around me as the spirits start blinking into existence while my body is slowly waking up. They start landing on my face and trying to pry my eyelids open. I groan again. I wish I could tell them to fuck off for at least a few hours but, even if I did, they're clingy little shits who are too afraid to leave me for fear that either I or they would die. Which is kinda sweet, I guess. But not when they're scratching at my eyelids and poking the hell out of my pupils as if it doesn't hurt like hell. I blink tears out of my eyes.

There's a soft chuckle from the man beside me, and I feel him scoop one of the spirits off of my cheek. "What are these little guys, anyways?" he asks softly. I open my eyes to see him holding the spirit up to his face, rolling it around between his palms and tilting his head like a curious dog. Said spirit is crawling around his fingers, probably trying to get back to me out of fear. For a second, I get the thought that my spirits are kind of like tiny bugs who act like pets, and it almost makes me smile. Except smiling hurts. Everything hurts. Existence is pain.

I turn away from the man and face the ceiling. As I suspected, I'm in a hospital room. The faint beeping of the various monitors and machines to my left confirm that, even, along with the blank white ceiling tiles above my head. I've only been in the hospital a few times, and all of them have been the result of a fight. Maybe this was destined to happen or whatever. But it's not like I was fighting back this time. I just got my ass kicked and that was it. Quite uneventful, but here I am, in the hospital, in pain. And the guy who put me here is completely untouched.

"Wind spirits," I manage to say through my clenched teeth. It sounds kinda muffled but I think he gets the gist of it, because then he nods and lets the spirit float back over to me, where it clings to my hospital gown and makes a low, sad coo.

"They're cute," he says, straightening up in the chair he's sitting in. "What do they do?"

I manage to shrug as feeling slowly is returning to various parts of my body. "Float around and shit."

His eyebrows furrow. "They shit?"

I don't know why, but that makes me laugh, and I guess my laughing makes him laugh, and then I guess his laughter makes the demon in the corner laugh. Which startles me, understandably. My head snaps in the direction of the dark and soft laughter, which makes my vision swim for a bit, and land on a familiar red-eyed visage that makes me tense up and gasp.

"Don't freak out..!" the man beside me manages to say before I can, understandably, start freaking out. I turn back to him, confusion written across my face. "He's not here to hurt you. He's here to pay for your bills, remember?"

I stare at him, then shake my head. "Why is he in the room?" It's hard to talk with teeth in the way, but trying to move my jaw makes pain spike up the side of my face so I guess I'll have to live with it for a while.

The man sighs and shrugs, lowering his voice, "I guess he's worried about you too. To be honest, I also wanted to kick him out, but he just sat down and made himself at home. But at least he's not hurting anybody." I can tell by the look on his face and the tone of his voice that he's highly annoyed. It's almost comical, the way he's being so kind with me but so obviously upset by the other guy. I guess even good people can be resentful sometimes. I chuckle again. Then I turn my head back to the beast sitting in the corner.

He almost looks sorry from where he's sitting. I feel bad for a second, but then I remember that he's the reason I'm in a _fucking HOSPITAL_ and no longer feel bad. I manage a glare and he shrinks down further into his cloak. Fucking asshole. I want to tell him to get out but I can tell that trying to raise my voice means the death of me so, just like every other fucking terrible thing in my life, I'll just have to fucking live with it.

There's a few moments of silence before the nice guy's hand is on my shoulder and is giving it a somewhat reassuring squeeze. I turn again to face him. "Your family was here earlier but decided not to stay the night. They said they'd be back in the morning."

The night? What time is it?

"How long was I out?" I ask, trying to sit up as slowly as possible. He notices my effort and reaches over to a remote sitting on the bedside dresser beside me. He presses a button on it and the head of the hospital bed begins to raise. Fancy.

I relax and let myself be sat upright. Probably my favorite thing about a hospital, if I had to choose a favorite thing about a hospital. I'm a fucking space overlord. Heheh. I can already picture the soldiers bowing at my feet as I rise high above their heads. Offering their obedience to me to honor my power. I reach out to them and they stand, saluting me. They're at my beck and call and I offer them no mercy. The sound of thousands of feet thunder through the hallways as I order them to-

"Evan?"

"Huh?"

"Are you okay?"

Suddenly I'm back in my own body, which is still in pain, and staring at the confused face of the man who saved my life a few hours ago, instead of in the body of the Darth Evan that I so long to be. Which is.. kinda embarrassing, I'll admit.

I gulp and nod, looking away. "Yeah. Just... daydreaming."

"Oh..!" He sounds surprised, and then he snorts. I want to reach out and whack him on the arm like I do with my sister, but he's too far away and my body is still to heavy. "What were you daydreaming about?"

My eyebrows furrow as I gently shake my head. "Nothing. How long was I out, again?"

He sighs. "About 7 hours. It's almost midnight. You had a concussion after the assault and your skull was fractured, so you'll be staying in the hospital for a few days so they can keep an eye on you, they said."

I groan again. A few days in the hospital. When the best thing about a hospital are its beds. I guess I should start getting used to watching soap operas on tv for the next few days. God, when's the last time I watched tv? Then I realize something.

"How do you know my name?" I stare at him, suddenly feeling unease settle into my stomach.

"Hm? Oh, it was on your hospital file." Oh, that makes sense I guess? "Evan Longstride, right?" I nod slowly. "Nice last name. What's your power?"

I want to frown but it's basically impossible with whatever the fuck this wiring is that they put in my mouth to keep my jaw from fucking up. But I don't feel like embarrassing myself further, so I resolve not to say anything. I'm not obligated to anyways, right? However, my spirits decide to speak for me, floating up to his face and making their presence known. His eyebrows raise a little and I get the feeling he somewhat understands.

"Is it these guys? Are they like your minions..?"

I shake my head again. "Pets.. friends."

"Oh! That's cute..! I wish my power would give me little friends." By now the spirits are gradually dancing over to him and perching on his shoulders or head, like little snowflakes during a quiet winter. I stare for longer than I mean to before I get the feeling I should probably look away, but then he's staring back at me, and then it's just silent.

I take the time to really notice the look of the kind man's face. It's so.. smooth yet sharp yet also rigid yet also also soft and gentle looking. The jet black hair perched perfectly on top of his head makes me feel a jolt of jealousy for a forgotten second. His bright golden eyes look like they're glowing in comparison to his beautifully dark skin, and his smile pulls small dimples into his face that make my heart stutter from where it's sitting in my chest. I've never been attracted to guys, at least I don't think so. I've thought boys were cute or hot, I'm not blind after all, but I never really saw anything inherently _gay_ about that. And yet, looking at the man in front of me, with a face like an angel and a voice like smooth honey and lavender, I think I might actually be highly attracted to a guy. Which isn't even really my fault. He's just fucking _attractive_. And it's not fair. Like at all. How does the universe expect me to not stare at that face? That perfect nose. Those plump and soft looking lips. That jaw that could cut bedrock. Those _stunning_ eyes that just stare into my _soul_ -

The sound of a throat being cleared snaps the tension between us like a twig and I glance back over at the man in the corner. Still here. Still just watching me like a weirdo. Well, watching both of us now. I guess it might have been kind of awkward for him to watch us staring at each other like that. Although it's not like it meant anything. Staring is just staring. It's natural, right? But wouldn't that be his cue to leave instead of to interrupt our staring contest like it was his business? Kinda rude, if you ask me.

The kinder man clears his throat as well and gestures to the man in the corner. "That's, um, what was it again? Hayven?" The man nods, and then he gestures to himself. "And I'm Wyven. But I mainly go by Phoenix."

I blink. "Are you brothers?"

He chuckles softly, the sound making me feel even more at ease despite the faint pain that the pain killers couldn't dampen. "No, we just so happen to have similar names, I guess."

This time, the man in the corner, Hayven, speaks up for himself, "I was named after my grandmother. She helped raise me before she died."

The mood in the room plummets and I look down at my lap. No one says anything for a long time until Wyven says, "I was named after a mythical dragon with two legs, but my dad managed to read the word wrong. Sadly though, by then the birth certificate was already made."

I snort, and Hayven says, "You were meant to be named Wyvern?"

"What the hell is a Wyvern??" I raise an eyebrow.

Phoenix shrugs. "A mythical dragon with two legs."

"And a barbed tail," Hayven adds. More scattered laughter.

I lean back against the bed and closed my eyes, feeling oddly satisfied for a moment. Just a few hours ago I thought I was dying but now.. now is nice. Now is calm. Except..

I turn back to Hayven. "You're an asshole."

His face sours. "Excuse me?" he growls. I scoff and attempt to cross my arms but they just sort of fold themselves over in my lap.

"All because you wouldn't let me have the cookies."

"I had them first."

"I was literally about to grab them..! I opened the door to take them!"

"They were already in my hands. You had no right to snatch them from me."

"You might have been in the right but you're still a fucking asshole!"

"Ladies, ladies," Phoenix interrupts, putting his hand on mine for some reason. Probably to calm me down. "In the end, neither of you got the cookies, and now _you're_ in the hospital and _you_ have to pay for his bills. So you're both assholes." I guess he's right, but that doesn't mean I can't be angry about it.

Then, though, I turn my attention to him. "And why are you being so nice to me? You don't even know me."

He smiles and says, "It's my duty. I couldn't let a kid like you get beaten half to death and not do anything about it."

"I'm not a kid!" I shout, which, as I suspected, makes my throat hurt and my voice hoarse. "I'm 23 years old!"

"Really??" Hayven pipes up while Phoenix laughs in his wake. I'm glaring daggers into his soul as he stares back at me in genuine confusion with a hint of malice.

Between wheezes, Phoenix manages to say, "Wait, you're not kidding?" And then calms down a bit. "Dude you look seventeen."

"Seven, more like," Hayven mumbles.

"No I'm not kidding! Didn't you see it on my hospital file?!"

"Can I be honest?" Phoenix smirks. "I thought it was a misprint or something."

"How often does the hospital have misprints??"

"Often enough for me to mistake a 23 year old man for a harmless child." He stands up and stretches, allowing us to hear several joints in his spine pop back into a comfortable position. "But since you seem to be getting along well, you probably want your alone time for now. Shall we be leaving?"

"Why do I have to leave?" Hayven mumbles again.

I narrow my eyes. "Why do you want to stay?"

That shuts him up, I guess, because then he looks down as he stands up from the chair he was sitting on. I glance back at Phoenix as he untangles the spirits from his hair and lets them float back over to me. They chirp sadly and try to cling to his clothes. I almost don't blame them, I can't imagine being stuck in a quiet hospital room without someone with me. And as much as I don't know the guy, he does sort of make the room feel warmer while he's in it.

Which is why I don't stop myself from saying, "Will you be visiting in the future?" before he can walk out of the door and leave me alone. He stops and turns to me, considering me for a while, before smiling and walking back to my bed. He crouches on the edge of it and pulls a phone from out of his pocket. Before he can even ask me, I tell him my number.

He smirks. "How did you know I'd ask for your number and not just take a picture of you?"

I roll my eyes. "Don't be a fucking weirdo, you've been nice to me up until this point."

He laughs in response and I join him. As our laughter dies down, I notice that we're staring at each other again. It's the same kind of staring that we were doing before, except with even less meaning behind it. I just feel so much calmer, gazing into those golden eyes. Which should totally weird me out, but somehow it doesn't. I guess my spirits notice too, because they start up their happy chirps again, poking my face in that way they do to get me to snap out of something. It doesn't work, it almost never works, but it makes me feel like maybe I'm not floating off into space and am still here on earth. Which sucks because I'd love to start daydreaming right now. Imagining just me and him, thousands of miles above the earth, hearing and seeing nothing but each other. Drifting ever so closer together but not quite getting close enough to touch one another. Weightless and careless. And staring.. Just staring...

I blink and look away and I hear him faintly let out a breath as if he was holding it. He pushes himself off of the bed and turns to leave again. "Well, I'll see you later. I'll be keeping an eye on you to make sure you don't die or something." He turns back to me one last time with a smile. "You might not be a kid, but I still care about your well being." Which for some reason makes my heart jump. He takes one last uneasy glance at Hayven, and then he's gone, leaving me and the beast alone in the room.

I stare after him for a long while, then glance at Hayven.

I'm about to tell him to get out when he steps closer to the bed. And I'm not trying to, but at that moment, the warmth leaves the room entirely and I feel like panicking and running from him. I mean, he beat me up. And I hate getting proven how weak I am! So, understandably I think, I'm more than a little upset at being close to him! But does that stop him from moving towards the bed? No!

A whine rises high in my throat and my mind tells my mouth to call out for Phoenix again, but then he stops coming closer and his eyes widen at the look of my shaking and tense limbs.

He holds his hands up, taking a step back. "I'm not.. going to hurt you." I narrow my eyes. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry.."

A huff leaves me mouth and I turn away from him. "Screw off, asshole."

"No really, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone that far. It was just cookies.."

I don't answer, so he's quiet for another moment. Then he lowers his hands and takes this as a chance to come a few steps closer, now right beside my bed. He crouches down and I turn to face him again, trying not to let my fear show.

Now that he's a bit closer, I can see more of his face that used to be hidden beneath his dark hood. He looks like he's tired, kinda. The light brown hair framing his face is disheveled in a few places, and from where I'm sitting I can see more of the hair resting all the way down to his shoulder, and I'm impressed for a second. His mouth is pushed down into a permanent frown, though, and his nose looks crooked on its bridge. But apart from that and a few scars scattered around his face, he looks fine. Almost handsome. Not as handsome as Phoenix, of course, because Phoenix is probably the male equivalent of the word "handsome" but he's at least better looking than some other people I see on the street. And yes, I'm a mean person who judges people on the street. I can do what I want. Bite me.

But something about him just looks a bit more different. Where Phoenix was smooth but sharp, he's rough but somehow sleek. And in a way.. it doesn't feel human. It feels like I'm looking at an animal in a skin suit more than I'm looking at a man who is twice the size of me and wanted me dead just a few hours before this. It's spooky. I feel a shiver run down my spine while he stares at me.

He reaches a hand out and puts it near me on the bed, but I don't reach out to put my hand on his. I'm still very angry, I guess. Probably subconsciously. Because I'm _also_ still very scared. Even if he is secretly handsome.

"Please believe me," he says in a lower voice. "I'm truly sorry. I was having a bad morning today, and I tend to let my feelings get out of hand.." he looks down. "I didn't mean to hurt you that badly. I just wanted to scare you but before I knew it, you were on the ground."

In a way it makes sense. The first thing he did to me was chuck me at a tree, and by then I was basically already down for the count. If he'd started out with a softer hit, maybe things wouldn't have turned out _that_ bad. Though, that doesn't make it any better.

I once again try to cross my arms, and once again it's to no avail. Fuck these pain killers. Don't most skull fractures not need pain killers??

"That doesn't change what you did. And it doesn't change where I am now."

He nods. "I know. But I know what I did was wrong. I want to make it up to you somehow if you'll let me. I'm not a bad guy. I just have anger issues."

"You call that anger issues?" I snort.

He growls in response and I shut up. Then he lets out another sigh. "I understand if you don't forgive me. But I still want to try to make you understand that I'm sorry for what I did."

I stare at him, not sure what to think of this confession. On one hand I want to punch him for what he did to me, but on the other hand I understand how having a bad day can make you act like an idiot. And I guess when you're a big guy like him, it's easy to let your anger get out of hand and seriously end up hurting somebody. Not that it makes it any better, but I guess I understand. I mean, if the tables were turned and I'd been the big guy who was feeling shitty after my sister was being particularly rude to me that day and nothing else was going my way, I'd also want to beat up the guy who robbed me of my precious macarons just because he "saw them first." And then I'd feel like a fucktard afterwards because that's an honestly shitty thing to do. So yeah, I understand.

I take a deep breath and let it out through my nose. My mom always wanted me to be more of a pacifist. When I was a kid and was fighting every person who made fun of me left and right, one day she pulled me aside and told me that anger wasn't everything. Anger would only lead to more fighting, and if I lost then I'd just get more angry, and I'd end up feeling worse than when I started. And if I won, the feeling would be so short lived that I'd end up right back where I started before I fought. So the best thing to do was to let go of the anger and let it give way to better feelings. And if I could do that, I'd always feel happy no matter what. And feeling happy felt good.

It took me a few months after that to really let the message sink in, but once it did, I made an effort to not let my anger control me and make me feel worse. And it worked, for the most part. I was happier. And I didn't want to fight. And I _don't_ want to fight. Because it just makes me.. angrier.

"It's fine," I say after the silence has lasted a good hour. He glances up at me and I continue, "I understand. I'm sorry I was an annoying little shit."

A smile pulls at his lips as he shakes his head. "I'm sorry I was being a big bully to you. You were annoying but you didn't deserve to be sent to the hospital."

"Eh, it's not my first rodeo. Believe it or not, I've kicked asses before. Of course, not your ass, because _your_ ass is like a foot above my head, but I've sent idiots to the hospital too. I'm not a kid, remember?"

He chuckles, and the sound is low and smooth, making my chest rumble with its power. It's then that I really notice how deep his voice is. It's _really_ low. Lower than Phoenix's, even, and I'm briefly embarrassed by how much higher my voice sounds than theirs. God, how many balls do these guys _have_??

"I'll keep that in mind," he says, standing up. "And I'll leave you to rest. I'll stay in touch, though. I still have a bill to pay." At that he grimaces, and I can't help but snort. He looks back down at me and I have to tilt my head up to meet his eyes. "I hope you don't mind that I memorized your number from when you gave it to that man. I figured it would be easier for you to message me when you're ready to leave the hospital."

I shrug and shake my head. "Nah, it makes sense. Just, um, text me, I guess? But don't send me anything weird or I'll kill myself."

"Weird how?" he prods, raising an eyebrow.

I point to the remote beside my bed. "Can you let me lay down again?" His eyes narrow when he notices that I'm trying to change the subject, and then a smile flashes across his face for a split second.

"Well, since you asked so nicely."

At first I think he's going to walk around the bed to where the remote is, but he surprises the shit out of me by crawling onto the bed and reaching over me to press the button. I make a surprised yelp when he does, and he places his hand right beside my face to keep his balance, I guess. The bed glides back down to its original spot and he has to put his other hand on the bed to keep from falling again. By the time the bed's stopped moving and I'm laying down properly, I'm also staring up at his angry red eyes while he smirks down at me as if I won the battle but he won the war. I can't even find any words to say anything, and it feels like he's stealing the breath from my lungs every time inhales. And I don't know why, but I begin blushing..

"Shouldn't you be letting him rest?" A voice cuts through the heavy silence between us. I glance over to the door to see Phoenix with his arms crossed and an annoyed expression on his face.

Hayven sits back on the bed, slowly climbing off of me. "I was just letting him lay back down. I thought you'd already left?" He raises an eyebrow and Phoenix looks away.

"I noticed you'd stayed in the room and I wanted to make sure you weren't going to hurt him again."

"What kind of monster do you take me for?"

"Do you really want me to answer that question?"

They glare at each other and I get the feeling that maybe I'm missing something. Like I've tuned in to episode 3 of a new series and the main characters are about to fight for some reason. It _feels_ like they're about to fight, too. A tension settles between them, like the tension they had with me but a lot more hostile and concerning. I almost think they're _actually_ about to fight, but then Hayven stands up and walks over to the door, huffing out a quiet "fine" before turning to look at me one last time. Phoenix also turns his attention to me, letting a smile fall into place on his face.

"Sorry about that. We'll be going now. Rest well. I'll text you when I can to check up on you." I nod and he takes one more look at Hayven before walking out. Hayven's face twists into a small smile one more time before he also leaves, and then I'm alone. Well, not quite.

Eventually, my spirits peek out from where they were hiding in the sheets and my gown and perch themselves on various parts of my body. I guess they must have hid once Hayven came closer, and I don't blame them. But he's not all that bad, I guess. Just.. misunderstood. Maybe they'll understand if I tell them. And I would totally tell them.

But I am extremely exhausted for some reason.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! As always, comments are appreciated. I love hearing from you guys~
> 
> I'm noticing that this style of writing is kinda wonky, and I'm not sure if I like it very much, but I'm gonna stick with it because it's about the story, not the writing/grammar. I hope you guys feel the same way.
> 
> I hope you'll be sticking with this story and the various others in this series, because there's a lot more for me to write! 
> 
> Thanks for reading~!


	3. Elevation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evan's just about ready to be discharged from the hospital when all of a sudden things take a turn for the surprising. Just another obstacle he'll have to put up with. But not when other people are involved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! This chapter is fucking great! It was so fun to write and I hope it's fun to read! Things go from bad to worse in this chapter, but that's what happens when you're Evan Longstride. The universe just fucking hates you.
> 
> Prepare yourselves, though. There's a lot of VIOLENCE in this chapter, so here's a WARNING just in case.
> 
> Enjoy~!

"Evan. Evan. Evaaan." No. "Evan. Eviiiiin. Uvaaaan. Evieeeeeeeeee!" My eyes remain closed. "Evan. Evan. Evan. Evan. Evan. Evan." Fuck off please. "Evan smevan devan tevan levan bevan stupid ass bitch." That last one didn't even fit with the theme. "Look at me you piece of shit!"

"Didn't dad tell you to stop cursing?"

"Didn't god tell you to stop being an ugly piece of shit?"

I open my eyes and turn to glare at my little sister. "We literally have the same face."

"Yeah. Okay. Anyways!" She crosses her legs and gives me a vicious smile. "If you have to leave in a wheelchair, can I sit in it?"

"Why.. the fuck would I have to leave in a wheelchair?"

She shrugs. "In case your legs don't work anymore. You have a concussion, remember? For all we know, the part of your brain that controls leg movements was smashed into mush and now you're permanently paralyzed."

"I don't think that's how it works."

"You don't _think_ but you also don't _know_. You're as stupid as I am."

"I've been through all of high school."

"But not to college..!"

"Neither have you!"

"Exactly! Same level of stupid."

I groan and shake my head, facing away from her and towards the door. It's been six days since I was confined to a hospital room. My family has been visiting me every day but hasn't been staying the night, thank god. I don't think I'd ever be able to sleep with "Evan Evan Evin" ringing in my ears at all hours of the night time. It's not like they have to stay anyways, I can take care of myself. I might have gotten myself into this mess but it's just a hospital. Not like I'll be facing great challenges in my life while sitting in a hospital bed and feeling sorry for myself. And if you're wondering, yes, I'm aware of how stupid I acted to end up in this mess. But to be fair... macarons are fucking delicious.

I'm not the only one who thinks so, either! Remember that guy, Hayven? He sent me to a hospital over some fucking cookies. Obviously he felt just as strongly about them as I did. And you know what, I can respect him for that. Not everyone has the guts to beat up some nerd over their favorite dessert. I sure didn't, I ran like a coward. And then _still_ got beat up. Just goes to show how pathetic I truly am-

"Evan stop daydreaming."

"Oh my GOD do you have to ruin my inner monologue NOW? It was getting to the good part." I turn and pretend to spit at her. Her eyes narrow as she reaches up to wipe a pretend spit droplet off of her face and I can't help but snort.

"Look, I know you're schizophrenic, Evan, but we're in the middle of a conversation. Try to have a drop of respect." She sighs. "I swear, sometimes it's like you're younger than me."

"Hard to hear you say that with a cat ear headband on your head."

"Cat ears are fucking cute, okay?!" She reaches up to cover the ears on her head anyways. "There's nothing wrong with wearing them as an accessory, it's not like I'm a furry."

I raise an eyebrow. "And what's wrong with furries? Some people are born like that, you know." It's true, some powers involve people being born animal-like or with animalistic features. It's not their fault, and they still sometimes get made fun of for it. I'd be lying if I said that I never participated in the teasing, but I've grown from that child who I once was. Like I said before, I'm a lot happier now. Happier people rarely pick on others for their short comings, or for things that are out of their control, I've found.

"Are you daydreaming again?"

"Shut up. I'm being wise."

She chortles. "YOU being WISE? What's the situation this time? Are you a Tibetan monk on the peak of a mountain, or a college professor telling your students about your latest book that they have to buy in order to pass your class?"

"As if I'd tell you," I huff, rolling my eyes.

Iyana stands up and walks strides towards the door with a quiet "I'll be back." Once she leaves, the room is quiet again. Not that I hate it, it's just off putting. I'm not used to being in quiet places. I live in a house full of crazy people. And in a city full of crazy people. And in a world full of crazy people. So to be so set off from society, in a blank white room with a deafening silence that's only broken ever few seconds by the beep of my heart monitor, it's more than a little unsettling, I'd think. My parents will be visiting as soon as they can, though, so hopefully it won't be silent for long. And my sister will stop pestering me when they get here too. Gotta love parents.

I reach for the glass of smoothie to my left, and my spirits pipe up and float over to it. They lift it carefully into the air and manage to drift with it over to my outstretched hand. I didn't even ask them to, so that was nice of them. Right. I guess I'm never truly alone. They'll always be there for me. I smile and lift the straw to my lips, taking a sip as my gaze drifts over towards the window. I'll always have my little spirits. A weak power but, I guess, not truly useless.

I absentmindedly lay my hand palm-up on my lap, and a few of them go to rest in it. I close my hand around them. They squirm and try to crawl out of my grasp, which tickles. I chuckle. and move the cup from my mouth. "You guys are so cute."

Interrupting my soothing moment with the spirits, my phone gives off a little twinkle and lights up, pulling my attention away from my pets. I have a new message, apparently. I reach over and pull the phone towards myself. I'm almost expecting what I see next.

Hayven _now_  
Are you awake yet?

I smile again as I unlock my phone and open the message in the app. Along with the text is another text of an emoji. You know that one with the small frown and the big beady eyes? It's that one, he sends me that one. Fucking idiots, I swear.

As I'm texting back, I can't help but roll my eyes. He's been texting me a lot these past few days. It's gradually evolved from consistent apologies for what he's done to constantly asking me if I'm okay, to checking up on me every few hours, to just making random conversation to keep me company. It's not like I'm complaining though. At quiet times like these when it's only me and my spirits, it's nice to just fucking talk to someone. Even if it's to an idiot like him.

I reply to him.

 **Me** : No, I'm sleep [sleeping emoji]

 **Hayven** : Then who am I talking to

 **Me** : My ghostt

 **Me** : Why are you texting me, don't you have a life?

 **Hayven** : Just to make sure you didn't die in your sleep from complications. Is it so bad to be worried?

I roll my eyes again, but I'm still smiling.

 **Me** : You are aware you put me into this mess, right?

 **Hayven** : And I take responsibilities for my actions. Is that such a bad thing? You're getting let out later today, right?

 **Me** : Yea

 **Hayven** : When should I stop by?

My eyebrows furrow and I feel a blush creep up my face.

 **Me** : Why are you stopping by?

 **Hayven** : To pay the bill.

Oh. Right. Dunno why that made me so excited there, heh.

My fingers hover over my phone screen while I think for a moment. I actually don't know..

 **Me** : I actually dunno

 **Hayven** : How about in an hour?

I bite my lip, or at least try to. I still can't fucking move my jaw. Won't be able to for another six weeks. Sigh. But anyways, an hour? He'd probably end up staying a lot longer than that. The last time he stayed for such a long time in my room was the first time I woke up in the hospital. And I only really got to talk to him for about ten minutes after I woke up. And now I'd have to probably talk to him for several hours.

It's not like we can't find things to talk about. When I'm texting, it almost doesn't feel like I'm joking about turning a hamburger into a smoothie with the person who put me in the hospital. But when he's right in front of me and the creepiness is _radiating_ off of him? How am I supposed to talk to THAT? He's like if a hunk of metal were a person but said person was also a rabid dog. He never really smiles, either. But reading his texts, it's just easier to imagine it. I mean, what kind of hunk of metal sends that stupid sad eyes emoji? Is that a stupid question?

I glance back down at my phone and leave our chat room. It's the only active chat room I have that doesn't involve someone in my family. After Phoenix got my number, he never really texted me. And I didn't get his, so I can't text him first. I'm starting to wonder if he'll ever text me.. Maybe he was just doing it out of courtesy but didn't mean anything by it. Which is fine and all, he doesn't have an obligation to check up on me. I don't know why I feel so disappointed about it, though..

Then there's another text notification.

Hayven _now_  
Hello? Are you still there?

I turn off my phone and lay it down on the bedside table, then lean back against the bed and close my eyes. The past few days have managed to be so eventful, but also so boring at the same time. Laying in bed and just existing, how do people live like this? I'm talking to you. How do you live like this? Aren't you bored?

Something akin to a yelp down the hall startles me from my thoughts and I look over to the door. There's a small window at the top of the door that looks out into the hallway, and through it I see someone rushing past. It's not unlikely to see people running down the hall for one reason or another in a hospital, some people are crazy after all, but something about this instance makes my skin crawl and my legs twitch. It's probably nothing, but I'm bored anyway, so before I'm even really thinking about it, I'm swinging my legs off of the edge of the bed and standing up to walk out of the room.

I'm held back by the various monitors and needles hooked up to me, but I'm getting out in a few hours anyways so I don't think it matters all that much. It's not like I'm seconds from dying. I rip them out of my skin and let them fall to the floor. If it turns out to be nothing and I can go back to my room, I'm sure the nurses will either just put them back in or take them out of the room. I'm fine, after all. Just bored. And plus, Iyana has been gone for quite some time by now. My eyebrows furrow and I creep closer to the door.

The long and insistent beep of the heart monitor flat lining is all I hear before a force like nothing I've felt before sends me and the room door flying across the room. I gasp and land on the floor with a thud, coughing as the force of the throw has stolen all the air from my lungs. I only have a split second to wonder what the hell is going on when another shock wave rips through the air, this time shattering the florescent bulbs in my room and throwing the room into darkness. I cover my eyes and nose. I might be stupid, but I know it's not good to breathe in when those things break. I'm nowhere near them and I'm already feeling the urge to cough. Damn it.

I can hear screams and footsteps from outside of the room but can't see anything, even when I manage to move my hands from my face. Lights flash down the hallway as balls of what I can only assume is some kind of energy are shot from somewhere I can't see. I watch in horror as a nurse who's running past my doorway gets hit in the back by one of the balls of energy, and then he's on the floor convulsing, and then he's still. I back up against the wall but can't find it in myself to look away.

My spirits take cover inside of my clothes as several sets of heavy footsteps echo down the now empty hallway. I hold my breath as they crawl closer and silently will my spirits to be as quiet as possible. I try to scoot closer to the bed so I can hide myself in its shadow, and then I wait. The sound of voices reach my ears.

"They're so loud."

"Yeah, well, they're dying. of course they're loud. You're telling me you wouldn't scream if you were dying?"

A scoff. "I'd take it like a champ. If I were dying, I'd deserve it. It just means I'm not strong enough to survive."

"God you're such a bummer."

Then another voice. "Look at this one! He looks like he's still alive..!"

My breath catches in my throat as I flatten myself against the floor as much as I can. I turn my head to see boots standing in my doorway. I almost think that I'm going to die, but then they crouch down and poke at the still nurse on the floor.

"Heh, look at the way he's laying. He looks like he's trying to get fucked." Well that's kinda vulgar to say about someone who's very obviously in pain. "Can I keep it?"

Yet another voice, this one deeper and scarier than the rest. "No. You're not responsible enough for a pet."

The one crouching at my door turns and stands up fully with a huff. "I wasn't asking _you_. You're not the boss of me anymore, you know."

The first voice I heard speaks up then, "If we don't find anything along the way that you want, you can take it. So leave it there for now." There's a whimpering sound, but no more arguments,

One of the voices, it sounds like a girl, speaks up again. "Cast, check that room right there. Make sure no one's alive." My heart stutters and stops beating at the sound of more footsteps entering the room.

The first voice again says, "The energy wave should have killed them."

"No," the girl, "this should have been where the death zone ended. There could still be someone alive in there. And we could use every soul we can get." The person from before scoffs, but doesn't argue with that. But I can't help but panic more. Every soul they can get? What the fuck does that mean??"

I lay completely still at my spot on the floor, praying to whatever god is out there that they don't find me. I don't want to die. There's still so much I want to do. I still haven't become a baker. I still haven't gotten married. I haven't even had sex! What kind of person dies without having sex?! I'll literally have so many regrets if I die right now, I think I'd become a vengeful spirit. But despite my wishes, they just keep walking closer, the sound of their shoes hitting the floor rings in my ears.

They stop at the foot of the bed and turn to face it. The other person at the door speaks up again.

"Don't you hear the heart monitor? They're already dead. Am I the only non-deaf person in this group?"

Then it's the girl again. "Well. Doesn't hurt to make sure. Cast?"

It's silent. I'm just about to wonder whether I should crawl under the bed and continue to hide, when all of a sudden, what seems like hundreds of small spikes shoot right through every inch of the bed I was laying on just moments before, right through to the spot where I was debating I should hide just moments before. I wish I had a catheter right now.

The spikes slowly retract, and then Cast is walking back to the door. The girl says a short, "thanks," before the footsteps all start moving as one again, walking down the hallway. A light passes my door, one of them must have some sort of flashlight, and then they're leaving. Their voices slowly fade away as they get father from the room and I can hear my heart beat start up again, this time pounding in my ears.

Millimeters. I was millimeters away from those spikes. I was about two minutes away from getting shredded to shit. If the lights were on they would have found me. If I had made I sound I would have died. So close. I was so close to dying. What the fuck. What the fuck-

A spirit is pulling at my gown, willing me to get up, and it snaps me out of my thoughts. I have to get out of here. I glance over at the window and vaguely wonder if I should consider trying to crawl out of it that way, but I've never been good at rock climbing and I'm already five stories up. I have to leave through the hallway. I have to risk getting seen. Just great. What a great day. I love how quickly things escalated.

I'm shaking like crazy as I sit up and pull myself off of the floor. It feels like any small startle will make me collapse and pass out immediately, but at the same time I can feel thick adrenaline rushing through my veins. I glance around the completely dark room, wondering how the hell I'm going to navigate around a dark hallway without a light before I remember my phone. I look around and spot it lying a foot away on the floor. I pick it up. The screen is cracked to shit but the flashlight still works. I place my finger over the lens where the light is pouring out of and turn the light a shade of red. This will make it easier to point the flashlight around without them immediately noticing me.

I take a glance around the room and creep towards the door, being careful not to step on the glass gathered in the middle of the room from the bulbs breaking earlier. I get to my door and chance a look in the direction of the group of people who started all this. They're not looking back and they're already a good distance down the hallway, but they're going slow, probably checking every room. Thank fuck. I'm about to step out of the doorway and into the hallway when I hear a groan below me and look down. The nurse from earlier. He really is still alive. I crouch down and shine the light in his face, worry crossing my features.

"Are you okay?" I whisper. Is he even awake? He glances up at me, his gaze glossed over in pain, and my breath catches in my throat. "Can you walk?" He shakes his head. Fuck.

I turn behind us to look at the group again, still getting further down the hallway. They must be heading to the elevators on that side. There's two sets of elevators. Ones on each end of the hallway. I can go to the others, walking the opposite way of them and hope they never look back and notice me walking. I look back down at the nurse. If I take him with me, there's more of a chance of us being noticed. We'll be slower. We'll make more noise.

The spirits begin landing on the man, looking up at me with those pleading eyes of theirs. They don't want to have to leave him there. I don't either. If it were me, what would I want someone to do? Leave me and save themselves, or help me and risk us both getting caught? I furrow my eyebrows.

I grab his arm and slowly try to pull him to a standing position. It's hard to do it with one hand since my other hand is occupied with my phone, but I manage to get one of his arms over my shoulder and stand him up. His feet touch the floor and he winces, so I wrap my arm around his torso and hold him close to me. My hands are full..

"Can you hold this?" I hold the phone out to him. He looks at it and nods slowly, so I pass it over to the hand that's not draped across my shoulder. "Put your finger over the light, keep it low." He nods again and does as I say. "Try not to let it fall." Another nod.

I look back at the group, still further down the hallway, and then towards our destination. We have a long way to go. I begin walking.

We're clumsy at first. He doesn't quite get the memo right away and we stumble a bit, but once we get a steady pace going, it's a lot easier. As I suspected, pulling him along is a lot harder than walking by myself, and he's taller and heavier than me so every time he stumbles, we both trip. But I already have him with me and we're already going towards the elevators. We'll get there eventually. We just have to keep walking.

The hallway stretches on forever. My arm feels like it's on fire, carrying all of the nurse's weight, and it's throbbing at the stress, but I don't stop walking. I know if I stop, I'll be too weak to start again. I'm still shaking, too. The odds aren't stacked in our favor, and sound carries down this hallway like a mule, but I don't stop walking. I won't give up. Fuck the universe and how much it hates me. I don't stop walking. I don't stop walking. Even my spirits are holding onto his clothes, easing as much weight off of my arm as they can. It isn't much but they're with us. We don't stop walking.

We're at the elevator doors before I even realize it. And thank fuck those maniacs didn't break them once they got off them. I press the button to call the elevator and it lights up. I sigh in relief and crouch in front of the floor, gently placing the nurse on the floor. I take my phone back from him and turn off the flashlight. As long as the elevators can open in time we'll be safe. We'll have escaped. I smile.

He looks at me and notices my happier expression, then smiles back. "Thank you," he whispers. I shake my head.

"It's no prob-"

A scream cracks through the air around us and makes my blood turn ice cold. It's followed by laughter from down the hallway. I turn to face where the group is now. They aren't in the hallway anymore, but I can see their light from before shining out from the hall's bathrooms. I recognize that scream. God damn it I know who they found. The elevator doors open.

The nurse turns to me, a question written on his face, and I turn back to him. "Go on without me," I say as I help pull him into the metal room.

"Wait..! You don't have to save her. You'll get yourself killed," he replies. He tries to hold onto my arm but I slip out of his grasp with a shake of my head. Before he can say anything else. I press the button for the ground floor of the hospital and step out of it. He frowns. "Come with me."

I shake my head again as the doors close on his devastated face. I hope he makes it. I hope someone helps him once he gets down to the bottom floor. But I apparently have worse things to worry about. And all of a sudden I'm running.

My spirits by now are as panicked as I feel, flying ahead of me towards the bathroom. I hear another scream and my legs run faster of their own accord. Fuck. Fuck this. Not my fucking sister. Fuck.

I stop at the place where the wall opens up to the bathrooms and try to catch my breath. I pray they can't hear me panting over their own laughs and talking. I take this as a chance to listen.

"Aw, she's kinda cute," it's the woman from before. "You sure you don't want this one, Pup?"

"Noo, I don't like girls!" It's the one from before who'd said he wanted to take the nurse. What does he need to take people for? Thank fuck he doesn't want to take my sister, though. I don't want to imagine what'd happen to her if he decided to.

He, Pup I think, continues. "Can I just go back and get the one from before?"

"No," the deeper voice interrupts, "Not yet. We still have more to collect, and the others have probably finished the other floors by now. Kill this one."

Then, I hear Iyana.

"No please! Please don't kill me! I'm just a kid! I didn't do anything wrong!" She's sobbing now, and my heart breaks. She sounds so scared. I've never heard her so frightened, not for years. I want to reach out and save her. But I'm just as scared as she is..

"Well, if you don't want to die, but Puppeteer doesn't want to keep you," the woman says, " _I_ could always be the one to take you home? What do you prefer?" My stomach clenches.

"P-please, can't you just let me go? I won't tell anyone anything I swear, I just want to go home! I don't want to die," Iyana manages between sobs. I can't take this anymore. I take a deep breath and hold it, now creeping around the corner and hugging the wall. I peek into the bathroom.

Now that I'm seeing who's talking, I feel a lot more frightened. There's five of them, and they're all wearing skull masks. Three guys, two girls. One of the women is holding a ball of light in her hand, which must be what's lighting up the room around them. The tallest one of them is holding Iyana's arms above her head, and from where I'm standing I can see streaks of tears running down her face like a stream. They all look so much bigger than her. They all look like they want to hurt her.

But one of the guys, the one wearing the boots from before, the one they call Pup I think, looks so young. He must be just a kid. And here he is torturing people, threatening to kidnap my sister. And I recognize the shoes from the person who came into my hospital room before, the one they call Cast. The one who tried to _kill_ me. They look so normal. But I almost _died_ because of them.

That's when it really hits me that these people aren't just normal people. They're villains. And Iyana's surrounded by them. We've always been taught that when faced with a villain, you should always try to escape instead of fighting back or negotiating. Villains don't listen to reason, and they don't show mercy. They have agendas, and they don't care what happens to people who are in the way of their agendas being filled. When faced with a villain, you run or you hide and wait for heroes to come and save you. But in this case, Iyana has nowhere to run, she was already found, and no one's running down the hall to save her.

They didn't hesitate to kill a me that wasn't on my bed, and they didn't even know me. Didn't know how old I was, didn't know what kind of person I was. And they tried to kill me. And now they have my sister. What the _fuck_.

A spirit tugging on my hair breaks me out of the horrific scene in front of me. I glance at him, then to where he's gesturing to. A set of fluorescent bulbs is hanging precariously just above the group's heads. They haven't burst yet, but they're close to falling. It looks like just a small gust of wind could cause them to-

My heart pounds in my chest. Fuck. I know what I have to do. I look back down at the group, still deciding what to do with my sister. I have to get Iyana to cover her mouth and nose and run somehow.

"How old are you, girly?" The woman asks, slowly circling Iyana with a look on her face that I particularly don't like.

Iyana gulps. "I-I'm only 14.."

"14? Why, you're getting so old already!" The woman coos. She reaches up and curls a lock of Iyana's hair around her finger. "You'd make a beautiful employee, you know. I'm sure the boss would love to recruit you. Would you like that, baby girl?"

I fight the urge to gag and turn away from the sight. I don't have much time. Sooner or later, they're either going to decide to take Iyana with them or kill her for good. Thankfully, it doesn't seem like they can agree with each other on the next course of action. I just need to think of something. Just need to find a way to get Iyana's attention...

I gather a few of my spirits up and bring them to my mouth, lowering my voice. "I need you guys to conjure up as much wind as you possibly can," I whisper. "Use more power than you've ever used in your life. We need this to work." I pause, then let go of all of them but one. "Everyone but you will be blowing on the bulbs above their heads. I have a special thing for you to blow." They all nod. "Get in position and wait for my cue." And with that I hold on tightly to the one I chose and creep away from the girls' bathroom.

I dance on my toes to the boys' bathroom and scan the walls for a urinal and peek inside of it. Perfect. But disgusting. I reach in and pick up the light purple silicone mat laying over the drain, fighting the gag that rises up in the back of my throat. It has a.. smell... perfect...

I creep back over to the girls' side.

"I'm tired of this!" One of the men shouts. "I'm just going to kill her." Iyana screams again.

I panic. Fuck. I don't have any more time. I look at the spirits in position and nod, then hold the urinal cake up to the one I have in my hand. "Okay, blow."

A small gust of wind shoots through the bathroom as the spirits all conjure as much air power as they can. The majority of them aim it right at the bulbs, the one I have in my hand blows scented air right to the others. They notice immediately.

"Fuck, what is that smell?" The woman asks, fanning her face with her hands.

"Did the ac just turn on? It smells like piss," another villain, the one who said he was going to kill Iyana, adds. I light up as I see even Iyana grimacing, probably, _hopefully_ holding her breath.

One of the villains, the one named Cast, meets my eyes for just a split second. But by then I'm smiling, because another split second later, the bulbs break off from where they're hanging and come crashing down on the heads of the villains, and mercury vapor comes cascading down around them.

They yelp and cough, all moving to cover their faces and mouths while letting out various sounds of surprise and confusion. The ball of light that was giving the room life before blinks out and we all plummet into darkness and uncertainty. I drop the disgusting urinal cake to the floor and throw the spirit I'm holding right to where I think Iyana's face used to be. I think it lands, because then I hear another yelp from her, followed by silence, and then footsteps coming towards me.

I reach my arms out and am almost tackled over with the force of my sister crashing into me. I don't have time to feel relieved, though, because by then the villains notice that she's gone and are already turning to follow her. I shift my grip on her and pick her up, and then I'm running down a dark hospital hallway with my little sister in my arms while several villains chase me.

She's still coughing even as I'm running, but she's also wrapping her arms tightly around my neck and burying her head in my chest. I can feel her sob into my shirt and I tighten my grip on her. A ball of light comes flying past my face. It looks familiar. The same ball of energy that took down the nurse I saved before. My heart sinks. I can't run down a straight hallway like this. The elevators are still so far away. Fuck fuck fuck fuck.

I turn and run into an open hospital room and kick the door closed behind me. That definitely won't stop them, but it's better than nothing. I look around the room. The only source of light is the window, whose curtains are flung open. There's no bathroom, no closet of any sort. No other curtains. There's nothing I can do in here. I can't hide. I hear their footsteps getting closer. Fuck. They're gonna catch us. They're gonna kill us. Tears run down my face. Fuck it. I won't let them get the satisfaction.

I tighten my grip on Iyana. She's still with me. I can feel her heartbeat thundering in her chest. She's still alive. I can see the window in front of me. I have no choice. I want her to stay alive. I can't let it end like this. I hear the door behind us fling open, and then I stop thinking, feeling, and seeing anything. I just run.

When I imagined jumping through a window, I always imagined it'd be while I was doing something cool. Like jumping from a villain's headquarters that I just put a bomb in, or jumping out of a window and into a cool sports car before driving off into a sunset. I never imagined that it would be me, curled into a ball around my little sister, running from a group of villains that just tried to kill us, plummeting to my certain death five stories below.

I couldn't save myself after all, I guess. But even as time is going in slow motion and my life is flashing before my eyes, the only thing I can think of is making sure she has a chance. Even as I'm just moments from death, I'm satisfied at least. My body will be her cushion. She's going to be okay. My little sister is going to be okay because of me.

Haha. I must be crying. I must look like a wimp to anyone who's watching. A wimp who'd rather take his own life than be killed by villains. It's not an entire lie, either. But it's not the truth.

I wonder if I've looked like a wimp all my life. As a kid, the boy who had such a useless power. As a graduate, the guy who didn't know what he wanted to be as an adult. As an adult, the man who couldn't do anything with his life except daydream.

_'Get your head out of the clouds, you annoying, ignorant, idiot.'_

On the bright side, maybe Hayven won't have to pay for my bills anymore. Funny that in my last moments, he's the one I'm thinking about.

Well, oh well. Now my head will be in the clouds for good, I guess. God I hope heaven exists. I hope I didn't do all of this for nothing. I hope the world realizes that I'm not as useless as it wants me to be. Fuck it. Fuck the universe. I can do whatever the fuck I want.

I can do whatever the fuck I want.

I can do whatever the fuck I want!

Time speeds up again. Glass is shattering. I'm falling. Iyana's screaming. The world is ending. I pry my jaws apart despite the wiring, despite the pain. Because I can do whatever the fuck I want.

"FUCK YOU!"

"Fuck _you_!" Hands wrap around my waist and break me out of my daydream. Except it's not a dream. I'm still falling. But someone else is there. A familiar face is with me. Holding me. Familiar golden eyes are staring at me. Falling with me.

Then I _really_ scream.

Instead of splattering on the floor like I thought I would, though, I, we, all land on something large and cushiony, except it also says "oof" when we land on it. Which surprises me as well.

Phoenix lets go of me and I let go of my little sister, dropping to the ground. I turn over onto my hands and knees and throw up every smoothie that's been inside of me since this morning. Iyana is sobbing her eyes out behind me. It's truly a moment of chaos.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Phoenix yells, coming to stand in front of me. "You could have died! You were supposed to wait for the heroes to come and get you!"

I gulp down bile and sit on my calves to look back up at him properly. "They weren't coming. We were moments from death."

The large cushiony thing from before moves to sit up and glare at me as well. It's Hayven. Oh hey, I was just thinking about you.

"And so you decided you'd do it yourself?"

I match his glare, but it's hard to when my heart is still beating so fast and it feels like my body's about to implode. "It was either that or my little sister and I get murdered by a group of villains." I pause to regain the breath that is for some reason so hard to gather at the moment. "I didn't want both of us to die so I," I inhale, "wanted to sacrifice myself as a cushion for when we landed on the ground." I inhale again, my voice breaking. "I didn't want her to die too. I wanted to save at least one of us." The world feels like it's underwater.

They both stare at me, then Phoenix bends down towards my little sister. He's about to say something, I think, but then Iyana is lunging for me and holding onto my hospital gown for dear life.

"You idiot," she cries, "You were gonna fucking die because of me you idiot!" She buries her face into my shoulder. "You should have left me you stupid idiot, you could have fucking died you idiot, what's wrong with you??!"

Funny that even once I've saved her life, I'm still an idiot in her eyes.

Phoenix sighs and looks back up at the hospital. "I have to go inside to help others. Hayven, can you take them somewhere safe?" Hayven nods and scoops me and my sister up with one arm. I admire him for a second, but then my focus is back on Phoenix.

"Wait! Come with us too. It's dangerous in there."

He looks back at me and shakes his head. "I'm a hero. I have to help them." And with that he's darting inside the building, leaving me to watch as he disappears inside the darkened hell of a hospital. I want him to come back, I have so much I want to say to him, but he's already so far away from me. Hayven shifts, and then we're moving somewhere else.

~~

There's a tent set up not too far from the hospital where the rest of the survivors are staying. Mom and dad sprint toward us once they see us walking over with Hayven. Iyana collapses into their arms and starts crying again, but I just smile at them and tell them I'm okay.

The doctors that managed to escape sit us down on a gurney that they managed to get from out of the hospital and check over us. I'm okay, my feet are bloody after running over tons of broken glass and debris and my jaw wiring desperately has to be redone, but other than that I'm okay. Iyana is okay too, but no doubt scarred. She won't stop crying.

I glance over at the hospital from where I'm sitting and my heart feels heavy. Phoenix is still in there. And there were lots of villains. Probably more, too, since they mentioned others. I'm worried about him..

Hayven comes to sit beside me and I turn to smile at him. "Thanks for cushioning my fall. I guess there are some benefits to being as big as you are."

He nods and sighs. "When we saw you falling out of the window, Phoenix and I were so frightened. He jumped up to grab you and I ran to catch you. Thank goodness we were where we were when we were."

I nod and absentmindedly fiddle with the wind spirit I have in my hands. The one that helped me save Iyana. He looks just as frightened as I feel. But he, like everyone else around me, is a hero it seems. Then my eyebrows furrow and I turn back to face Hayven. "Why were you here? Are you a hero too?"

He looks down while shaking his head, "I just was worried after you weren't responding to your texts. Then I saw on the news that the hospital you were in was being attacked by a villain organization..." He shakes his head again. "I just ran here as fast as I could."

"You must run fast," I can't help but say. He glares at me and I snort. But then a look of confusion crosses my face again. "If you can run so fast, how come you didn't run that fast to catch up with me when I stole the macarons?"

He doesn't have time to answer, because then everyone is gasping and looking towards the hospital. Several people are running and flying out of the building. I almost think that they're more survivors who made it, but then I notice that they're all wearing skull masks and are headed in relatively the same direction. My blood runs cold. The villains are escaping. And there's so many of them.

"Fuck," Hayven says under his breath. "That can't be good."

"The heroes couldn't catch them?" I can't help but feel like I sound like an upset child at that moment. I wanted so badly to believe that heroes could solve anything. But the more this day progresses, the more I realize heroes are just as reliable as anyone else..

However, I notice one thing in particular from the heroes who are filing out of the building and dashing towards the refugees from the hospital. I notice Phoenix. He's holding someone. The nurse I helped earlier. He's okay. They're both okay.

I smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! As always, comments are appreciated. I noticed this story isn't quite as popular as my other one, but I want to keep writing it if readers like you are enjoying it. So if you have anything to say then please do say it! I love hearing from you guys. SO much.
> 
> Like I said, this chapter was really fun to write, and there's plenty more action packed chapters like this to come. We still have a main conflict to run into, after all. And a main romance! Oh there's so much to come. Oh there's just so much I can't wait to write. I reaally hope you guys keep reading. I also hope you liked Evan's heroism! I guess some things you never really grow out of hehe!
> 
> Thanks for reading~!


	4. Pulled Along

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once again, the universe has some funny ideas about what happens to Evan after he finds a safe place to be. And something weird seems to be going on in this town. What's up with all these running subplots?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter! I am just cranking these babies out left and right. Are you proud of me?! I really like this series. It's really fun.
> 
> Anyways, this chapters starts introducing characters in the series that are going to be getting their own stories in the future! And very excited about a lot of these stories. It will be giving you a different perspective at all of these situations that are happening even now. Wonder what's going on in the "gateway" guy's head while all of this is happening? Well not for much longer! I'll be making their stories soon, I just have to figure out a few more things.
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading this chapter, because I for one think it's very interesting. And also very important!

It's a very difficult situation when a hospital is raided by villains and several patients are injured in the process. Cause then where do we put them? In the hospital? Pff.

We actually get moved to a hospital farther away, and the security in the hospital is ramped up tenfold, as well as the security in the surrounding hospitals in the area. Sometimes, less unstable patients will have to wait hours to be moved to the next hospital because other patients are in critical condition and need to be moved in ambulances as fast as possible, even sometimes taking ambulances from other hospitals to keep people alive. So to keep an eye on the patients who are left behind for a few hours, there will be a sort of mini hospital set up outside where everyone is waiting. That's what the refugee tent turned into. And it is, obviously, a huge mess.

There's a section for younger and older patients, and a section for young adult and middle aged patients that's separated with a curtain barrier. Everyone involved is required to get a check up of some sort, just to make sure there's no underlying causes of injury that will need them to be moved to the critical patient wait list and transported to a hospital as soon as possible, so Iyana and I got split up a while ago while she and our parents went to go wait with the younger and older patients. Mom and dad are fine, I think, but I'd rather they stay by her side than stay by mine. She could use the support, at least.

It's crowded and busy and loud, and honestly I hate it. I really hate it. So much. I can't believe I'm only here because of some fucking cookies. If I'd just let Hayven take the cookies, I would have been fine, and I'd have stayed home, and I'd have just been watching this business go down on the news and been like "oh god that's fucking terrible," and then just went on my phone and forgot about it. But no! Now I'm TRAUMATIZED. Because of cookies!

I wind up a fist and punch Hayven's arm with as much force as I can muster. It doesn't do much except bounce off of him like he's a beach ball that's a bit too full of air. He turns to me, a question on what I can see of his face.

"What was that for?" I can almost hear amusement in his voice.

"This is all your fault, fucktard. Imagine beating up some guy because he took cookies from you."

"Imagine stealing cookies right from some beast's hands and thinking he won't confront you about it," Phoenix added, coming and plopping down across our laps with an exhausted sigh. "There are so many people and they're all asking for help. I just got called by like six parents in a row all demanding me to take care of their kid FIRST and the kids just turning up to have a stomach ache because of stress or something."

I rest a hand on his forehead, along with some of my spirits who chirp and take a place on multiple parts of his body. They're peppered around us like air particles, sitting all over our heads and shoulders and milling around in our laps. They're so cute. It really is hard to be too stressed when they're around. Even Hayven is fiddling with a few of them that are resting in his palm and playing with his fingers like they're giant claws. Which they might as well be. I chuckle softly.

"There there. Blame yourself. No one told you to become a hero."

His mouth stretches into a stiff smirk. "Fuck off, kid. And what do _you_ do for a living?"

I stick my tongue out at him with a grimace.

"What's a fucktard..?" Hayven asks quietly, as if he's embarrassed to for some reason.

I look up at him. "You really just get caught up on the little things, huh? The topic's changed, Hay, get with the times." I sigh and lean back on the makeshift bed Hayven and I are sitting side by side on. The spirits resting on me float up at the sudden movement, then gently drift back down to rest on my face. I fight the urge to swat them away. "I want to go hooome. I was supposed to get out later today and now everything's just fucked." An empty sob wracks through my body as I close my eyes. "Whyyy do I get myself into messes like these..?!"

"You've been in a situation like this before?" Hayven asks with a quirked eyebrow, shifting to lean back on his palms as Phoenix turns to look up at me as well.

"Well.. not like this exactly.. but damn if it wasn't just as annoying."

Phoenix gets an angry expression on his face as he sits up, almost losing his balance and falling off of Hayven. He puts a hand on Hayven's shoulder to hold himself up. It's almost cute but the way he's glaring at me has me swallowing down my laughter.

"Annoying..? This is just annoying to you? People are DEAD, Evan. Do you know how many bodies I had to pull out of that hospital? Do you know how much people have lost because of this?"

I shake my head vigorously, sitting back up. "No, I didn't mean it like that. Yes, I know, it's really bad. I just.. I'm sorry. That was insensitive of me.."

"Yes, it was," Phoenix mutters.

"Let's calm down," Hayven butts in, giving us both a concerned look. "We're all, understandably, really tired. Some of us more than others, obviously," he adds as Phoenix basically _growls_ at him. "It'd be better to just try to relax. Getting mad at one another won't be fixing anything."

I nod, biting my lip. "Hayven's right. Let's look on the bright side, right..? We have a bed.. and... each other...?"

"Wow, what a bright side," Phoenix replies, unamused.

"Hey, at least I'm trying." I cross my arms and look out at the sea of moving and groaning bodies, all distressed in one way or another. It makes my stomach twist.

"What did I just say about being mad at each other?"

I groooan, glancing back at Phoenix as I grab his arm and shake it back and forth. "Phoenix I'm fucking sorry, okayyy? Don't be mad at me."

He stares at me for a long while, then at Hayven, and then back at me before mumbling out, "I'm not mad at you. I'm just tired, like Hayven said.. I'm sorry too..."

"See? Friendship." Hayven smiles. I snort and give him another punch on the arm for being such a nerd.

"You know what they say about teamwork," I add.

Hayven's eyebrows furrow. "That there's no I in it..?"

"What? No. It makes the-"

"Hey hey, hold on, let the man speak, he's got a point," Phoenix chuckles. I roll my eyes and lay back down, this time with a frustrated groan. But I can't stop myself from smiling too. Despite everything that's happened, at least I'm somewhat entertained.

Hayven and Phoenix's voice merge into the background as I zone out. Today really does just feel so surreal. Just a few hours ago I was arguing with my little sister about why I would need a wheelchair to go somewhere after I was let out later on in the day and texting Hayven about when he should come to pay for my hospital bills. And now I'm laying on a half broken bed with a thin blanket draped over it and wondering if those villains will come back and finish what they started. I'd never really been afraid of villains before now. I knew they existed and I knew they were dangerous, but I'd never seen them in real life so I didn't think much of them. I always just assumed I'd be immediately helped by a hero passing by if that ever were the case. But now it feels like any moment there will be a shock wave and everyone I love and care about will be dead..

I mean, why wouldn't the villains come back? Unless they finished getting whatever it was they were trying to get... souls.. why did they need souls..?

I sit up with a start, Hayven and Phoenix turning to regard me with looks of fright that gradually worsen as they notice the fright I have on my own face.

"What's wrong, Evan?" Hayven asks, reaching a hand out presumably to comfort me.

I don't stop myself from meeting his hand with my own, then giving it a squeeze and turning to Phoenix. It's a small gesture but it calms me down a bit, especially since his hand is so warm.

"Phoenix, do the heroes know why the villains attacked the hospital?"

Phoenix purses his lips, sitting up to face me properly. "Not really. We just assumed it was an act of terrorism.. To prove some kind of point or to spark fear in people. Attacking a hospital the way they did is sure to cause an uproar amongst citizens against the government about issues of safety in places where people are vulnerable, and villains love getting people to turn against the government and cause chaos. Lots of them do stuff like that. Why do you ask..?"

I gulp, shaking my head. "I don't think that's true. I overheard a group of them talking when they thought I was dead.. They said something about needing to collect souls for some reason. Something about giving them to a boss I think... I don't remember exactly but it sounded like something to be worried about. They wanted to kill _everyone_ they saw because they wanted to collect their souls. Iyana and I almost died because they didn't want to leave anyone behind..." I trail off as my heart gives a pang just remembering the way Iyana was begging for her life surrounded by a group of criminals with murderous intent. I can only imagine what would have happened if I'd left her, or worse, been killed myself before I could escape.

Phoenix searches my face for a while, then hums in confusion, looking off toward where his group of heroes are standing with clipboards in their hands, trying to calm the crowds and get things back in order. I can tell he wants to go to them but they look busy trying to reassure families that their loved ones will be okay and transferring people to hospitals as fast as they can. They don't need more things to worry about right now. He looks back at me.

"I'll bring it up with them later on. It sounds pretty important. Thanks for telling me."

I nod, then bite my lip.

"Do you know what it means, at all?"

He puts a hand on his chin, stroking the stubble that's been gathering there since this morning. Must be nice to be able to grow a beard.

"I have some suspicions.. but it's hero business. We have to keep some things from the public for safety reasons. Sorry."

"No, I understand," I respond, shaking my head.

Hayven watches us both for a while, then speaks up, "How did you manage to get away anyways? Those guys were dangerous. Did you and Iyana manage to hide in the dark?"

I furrow my eyebrows. "It's a long story. It's all kind of blurry. I was working completely off of adrenaline. And these guys kinda helped.." I turn and pluck a spirit off of Hayven's shoulder. He squeaks and squirms, trying to escape my gasp. "They're honestly probably smarter than I am."

'Anyone's smarter than you are.' A voice in my head tells me. It sounds like Iyana's bratty voice as she whacks me over and over with a heart pillow. I imagine myself grabbing the heart pillow from her and smacking her in the back with it. 'And stronger than you are, too. You hit like a girl!'

'You _are_ a girl,' I retort, throwing my own pillow at her hideous, laughing face. 'Fuck off, _girl_.'

'Make me, _girl,_ ' she sticks her tongue out.

'I will, _girl_." I get off from my bed and run after her, even as she cackles and throws a pillow right at my legs to make me trip. I smile and pick myself up, picking up the discarded pillow as well. 'Oh you're gonna get it now, GIRL.' I can't help it. I'm smiling. She's smiling. We're both smiling as we toss pillows and couch cushions at each other like it's the middle of winter and we're having a snowball fight. Our parents are watching us act like idiots, until my mom picks up a pillow as well, and all of a sudden it's war across the house as we ruthlessly attack each other with bags of fluff.

Only a family as weird as mine would start a pillow war because the kids of the house kept calling each other girls. Only my little sister would turn an insult into something fun. I wonder if she'll be like that once all of this is over. I wonder if she'll still have life in her. I wonder if she'll treat me differently because of this.. Are they days of my sassy, bratty, idiot little sister over? Is the house going to be quieter once we get back? Will things be different? I don't want things to change.. I want my little sister.. I want my weird family..

"EVAN!" Phoenix's scream finally pulls me from my thoughts. I blink away the tears gathered in my eyes and wipe the residue from my cheeks with a sniffle.

"Ugh.. huh? Did I zone out again..?"

"What were you daydreaming about this time?" Hayven asks, voice gentle as he runs a hand through my hair. I take a deep breath.

"Something stupid, as always. I just wonder if this event traumatized my little sister... She was _surrounded_ by villains who were threatening to take her life. And she's only just turned 14. She didn't deserve to be... Ugh." I lay my arm over my eyes as more tears threaten to spill. I feel a hand on my shoulder.

"It will be okay," Phoenix says quietly, pulling himself up to sit beside where I'm laying on the bed. "Maybe not right away, but over time she'll move past it. She just needs time and support, and to feel like she's safe again. She's with your parents, right? Their presence will help a lot."

Hayven lays on the other side of me and pulls my hand from my face. I feel his finger on my cheek, wiping away a tear that'd managed to escape from my the confines of my eye. I can't help but smile.

"Right. You guys are lucky to have such great parents. And she's lucky to have such a heroic older brother. Sacrificing yourself for her like that earlier, it was stupid as hell. But your heart was in the right place. I think she knows that you'll be there for her no matter what."

I stare up at the cloth of the tent above us. It's already getting dark, and I can hear the distant shouts of doctors telling the rest of us to get rest so we can be transported somewhere else in the morning. I wish I could just go home instead of to another hospital, but I need my jaw wiring to be redone. And if you're wondering, yes, it hurts like absolute hell. Do NOT ever do what I just did if you get wires on your jaws, and if you ever find that you can move your jaw for some reason even with the wiring, please contact your doctor and get the wiring reset, it is extremely detrimental to your health and will only make the problem, whatever it is, worse.

"Are you daydreaming again?" I hear Phoenix's voice through my thoughts.

"Daydreaming is so fun guys, you should try it sometime," I mumble. I hear, I feel, them laugh on either side of me and it makes my insides feel warm and fuzzy. I smile and reach an arm out across each of their chests. "This bed is too fucking small for all of us."

"I agree," Phoenix agrees, "I say we doggy pile on Hayven."

"Noo, no no no." Hayven shakes his head.

I turn to smirk at him. "Why not? You did a great job catching us with your body earlier, and that was when there was a 14 year old girl in our midst!"

Phoenix starts chanting, accentuating his words with a fist on the hard mattress below us. "Doggy pile. Doggy pile."

I join in.

"Doggy pile. Doggy pile..! Doggy pile!"

"Doggy pile on Evan," Hayven finally says.

"Deal!"

"What? No I'll die!" But at that point Phoenix is already draped across my stomach with a battle cry. I let out a prolonged yelp and try to push him off to no avail. Hayven joins him by draping himself across both of us. I gasp. "Fuck, no, I'm fucking dyingg, get off of me I can't breathe, you god damn beast!"

Phoenix groans. "I agree.. This was a terrible idea. Spare us..!"

Hayven lets out a dark chuckle before releasing our bodies from the hell that is being under his weight. I gulp in a breath and kick Phoenix off of me, who just laughs at my struggling. How did Hayven's mom even give birth to him without splitting into fourths?

"Okay, I apologize for wanting to lay on top of you. But this bed _is_ still really really small," I say again with a pout. "It's cramped as hell."

Hayven hums, then turns to face me with a gentle smile. "This better?"

"Good idea," Phoenix adds before doing the same. "If we're all sideways, we can easily fit on the bed."

"Wow, you guys are geniuses," I reply, holding back a snort.

Phoenix smiles. "You have to do it too." He reaches his arms around my waist and turns me so my back is facing his chest. He chuckles and I can feel his voice throughout my whole body. Kind of like when Hayven talks except Hayven does that to me even WITHOUT touching me. So now I'm just surrounded by vibrations I guess. Which is not good for you..! There are serious health problems associated with constant vibrations, especially against your whole body. However in this case, it's completely fine and wanted..

Phoenix drapes his arm around my waist and pulls himself a bit closer to me. "There. Now the bed is plenty big enough for all of us. Good idea, Hayven."

"Why thank you, Phoenix," Hayven purrs, draping an arm across Phoenix's arm that's draped across my waist. Their arms make an x across my body that brings a weird blush to my face. Said blush only gets deeper as Hayven scoots closer to me as well, completely trapping me between walls of muscle and body heat that starts to make me feel a little dizzy.

"Aren't there other beds..?" I speak up, except quietly.

"Mm.. probably," Phoenix replies, shrugging. "But we're already here. Might as well enjoy it."

I shake my head. "Men.."

Hayven raises an eyebrow. "Boy.."

"I'm not a boy."

"Go to sleep," Phoenix interrupts.

"But I'm not tireeed," I whine.

Phoenix sighs. "If you go to sleep now, you'll wake up to a pleasant surprise."

"Okay goodnight." I close my eyes.

I hear the soft laughter coming from both Hayven and Phoenix before we all eventually quiet down.

I usually don't fall asleep right away, but something about the feeling of being surrounded by warmth and safety makes my entire body feel heavy and soft. The sounds of life all around me, too. The bustling of the people around us being close to their loved ones and being relieved they're okay. The comfort that families give to one another over the tragedy that's happened. The constant thanks being given to the heroes not too far away that are constantly watching over everyone and keeping them safe.

The gentle thump of the heartbeats of the men on either side of me, the feeling of them against my back and hands. Even the gentle crawling and settling of the wind spirits as they tire themselves out and prepare to blink themselves out of existence to the little pocket dimension where they sleep. Everything that happens around me to remind me that I'm still alive. That there are others still alive. Just something about the way that we're all together, experiencing this weird phenomenon, all still breathing and all with our hearts still beating. All still crying and with tidbits of hope still stuck in our heads. Something about that..

Something about that makes me fall asleep immediately.

~~

...

"There's still so many people alive.."

My eyelids feel heavy.

"The place is surrounded by heroes now too."

My breathing feels slow and steady and my head feels fuzzy.

"What the hell kind of shit show is this?! God those guys suck. Hah! They couldn't even do _this_ right. No wonder they're resorting to the hands of Zethor. They need all the help they can get."

I manage to get my eyes open, but the world around me is fuzzy. It looks like everything is tinted a shade of blue and yellow and is somehow far away from wherever I am. I can't feel the bed below me or the men on either side of me. I can't even tell which way is up. I turn my head to look around, except I have no idea where I am. I think I might.. still be in the tent but everything is way too.. _fuzzy_. The tent is fuzzy, every person is fuzzy, every _thing_ is fuzzy. And moving in slow motion. So that's fucking lit. I try to talk.

"Yeah, it seems like they managed to take out a lot of people, but everyone here looks pretty weak." Where is that voice coming from? I tilt my head in a different direction. "They could have killed everyone in the building and _still_ wouldn't have had enough energy to open the door. But that doesn't mean it's not something to be worried about."

I think I can see someone. They feel just out of reach but also right up against me. They aren't facing me, though. If I could just reach out to them... I struggle to move my arm. It feels like I'm suspended in jello.

"A few more attacks like this and they'll be getting pretty close. Ya know, if I was the government, I'd close down the use of public places for a good while, but I guess I'm not stupid enough to run for office."

What the hell are they talking about? I reach a hand out and my fingers brush against their shoulder. They jolt.

"What's..?" They turn. "AHH WHAT THE HELL?!" They stumble away from me once our eyes meet, falling onto their butt. I almost laugh but for some reason my mouth still can't move. "What the hell are you doing here?? No, it's some.. guy. He somehow got into my gateway, I think.."

Who's he talking to? There's no one here but us.

"I'm talking to my colleagues, weirdo." He gets up and brushes himself off. "How did you get into my gateway?"

What the fuck does any of this mean and what the fuck does any of this mean and what the fuck? Does any of this mean?

"Oh my god I get it, you're confused. Shut the hell up."

Can he read my mind?

"Yes."

Oh, that was a simple answer. How come he couldn't read it before?

"Because I wasn't trying to before. Look, I'm not going to explain my powers to you," he rubs his fingers across the bridge of his nose, looking annoyed. "It's obvious you don't know how you got here, but you were a part of the attack at the hospital, right?" He looks back up.

I glance around nervously, then back at him and nod.

"Okay, well I at least kind of know why you're here, then.. You look like you're alseep over there," he glances down at what I assume is my unconscious body. "So your mind probably just hooked onto the signal of my gateway and invited itself inside."

Interesting. What were you just talking about to your, um... colleagues? About. Something about the hands of.. Zeppho...

He rolls his eyes. "The hands of Zethor. And don't worry about it. It's more complicated than you'd ever know."

Um, does it have something to do with collecting souls for some reason?

He pauses, narrowing his eyes. "Maybe. What have you heard?"

I overheard some of the villains talking about it. They were going to bring it back to their boss or something.

"Did they say the name of their boss?"

Nope. Just "the boss."

He grumbles something under his breath, then shifts his weight on his leg. "Right, well. Thanks for the information. You can leave now."

.... I don't know how.

"Do you remember how you got here?"

I slept.

"Well wake up."

It's not that simple, idiot.

His face lights up in anger, "Oh, I'm the idiot..?! And stop narrating everything you or I do, it's fucking annoying! Think normally!"

Fuck you, fucktard!

"Fuck you, asshole kid!"

I'm 23 years old!

"Fuck. You."

A growl rises low in my throat before my attention is pulled away from the butthole weirdo in front of me-

"I can still hear you. Stop narrating!"

And instead to what looks like Hayven, who's getting out of his bed and walking off somewhere. I'm confused as my eyes follow him sneaking around and out of the mass of people in the tent. I will myself to try to follow him, and it works, but the further I get from the bed, the more the world around me gets more muted and dark. So that's terrifying.

"You know that guy? Where's he going?"

He looks like he's going back to the hospital for some reason. Why's no one stopping him? Do they not see him?

"Dunno, looks pretty corporeal to me... You can't follow him, by the way. If you get too far from your body in this form, the connection between your soul and your body will probably snap like a twig and you'll be stuck between realms forever."

Like I said, fucking TERRIFYING.

"I'm just making a wild guess, of course."

I continue to stare after Hayven as a look of worry crosses over my face. What the fuck is going on with _him_ now..?

"What, you really don't know what he's doing?"

No, I barely know him, really..

He hums. "Suspicious. I'll follow him." He stands there, staring after Hayven, then turns to glare at me. "Your soul is messing with my gateway. I can't move it."

Well so-rry..! Didn't know having a soul would be so difficult for you. I cross my arms.

He sighs and walks over to where my body is laying, resting a hand on my forehead. "Jumper, get in on this shit. We have a guy to follow."

He's silent for a while.

"Because he might be a part of The Skulled, it's very possible they sent spies to sit in on the survivors like that. Just do it."

A villain..? Hayven? There's no way. Hayven might be a big scary looking dude but he's just.. confused. And sometimes angry.

"Well we don't know that for sure. Think of this as a safety precaution." I furrow my eyebrows.

What are you going to do?

In place of an actual answer, I watch in horror as my body shifts and begins moving without me doing anything about it. I want to gasp, but I'm still having a hard time moving my lips or tongue or anything about my mouth at all. The body that used to be mine seems to look around for a bit, then swings its legs over the side of the bed and starts heading in the direction that Hayven disappeared off to.

"You know I can see this all happening too, right?"

The body moves past the mass of bodies in the tent and manages to slip out beyond the eyes of the wall of tent survivors and towards the hulking empty shell that was a hospital just a few hours before. The person follows him, and I notice the world around me get fuzzy the further away my body wanders. Right. I have to stay close to it or I fucking die. Still terrifying. I float after them.

As we approach the hospital, my nonexistent stomach does flips inside my body to alert me that what's happening is completely fucked up and shouldn't be possible in any way. But I guess some powers are just like this. Able to.. pull souls out of their bodies?

"Correct."

Oh! I guess right?

"Partially. My main power is being able to open up pocket gateways between the ethereal realm and the corporeal realm and be able to travel between them using my soul. But I can also pull souls like yours halfway into this realm to be able to monitor them properly."

That's shady as shit.

"Yeah, well, it's my power so, sorry that I was born shady." He shrugs.

I thought you didn't want to have to explain your power to me?

"Eh, the hospital is a long walk."

I guess.. So if your power is just opening gateways and being able to monitor people's souls, how is my body.. moving...?

"Oh, that's not me. That's Spirit Jumper. He's able to inhabit bodies that no longer have souls in them."

That's TERRIFYING!

"Once again, sorry he was born terrifying, I guess. What's your power?"

Oh. Well... I don't want to have to tell him about the lame wind spirit power but it's literally impossible to when he can read my thoughts.

"Sucks to suck. What's so bad about wind spirits?"

Nothing, I guess..

Even as I think that, I can't help but think back to the situation just a few hours ago, where having the spirits quite literally saved my and Iyana's lives. If it hadn't been for them, I might have jumped out and done something stupid myself that would have gotten us both killed. Or worse. That Puppeteer guy would have stolen me for some reason and done... god knows what. Even though I have no body, I can feel a shiver jump down my spine.

He turns to look at me as we continue to follow my body. "You know Puppeteer..?"

He was one of the guys who attacked our floor of the hospital. There were multiple groups throughout the attack, right? Puppeteer came to our floor with the intention of, I guess, kidnapping a still alive victim and using them for something.. By his name, I can only assume it's not something good.

He hummed again, crossing his arms behind his head in a weird kind of stretch. "Nah, definitely not good. You'd still have been dead, one way or another. Puppeteer can corrupt people's souls and control their bodies. Kind of like if a necromancer were to make a body come back from the dead. The bodies can be completely loyal, but over time they rot from the inside out until they're unusable. It's actually a pretty unfortunate power, if you ask me."

That's. TERRIFYING!!

How do you even know that?

"I have my ways." He turns back to the hospital and purses his lips, slowing down. "Jumper, stay low. If they catch you, it could mean bad things for this guy's body." I whimper without sound.

My body slows down and crouches beneath a window. I try to peek inside but everything's still so dark and blurry. God if only I had a flashlight.

"Nah, flashlight bad. We want to stay in the dark. Jumper, use my voice as your navigation." He heads to the window and climbs inside. Me and my body are silent until he says, "Okay, come in." And then my body is vaulting over the window frame and I'm floating through the wall to join them. Which is cool, I guess. Almost feels like it's _my_ power. Man I wish.

He looks around, then nods, pointing in a direction. "Follow me. Stay crouched and be quiet. One wrong step and we're fucked." Fun.

My body does as he says as we maneuver through the hull of the hospital lobby. I'd think it was creepy if I could actually see the place properly. I can just barely make out the outlines of overturned, broken chairs or tiles and rubble thrown about after some invisible struggle that'd happened just earlier in the day. It's so eerie. Once a safe, lively place teeming with patients and families who were wishing their loved ones well, now completely barren and dead, looking like a tornado ran through the place. Which it might have. I don't know the other villains' powers. But I just hate that. It feels dystopian.

"Shh." He turns to me with a glare. God. Sorry I think stuff sometimes. My bad.

He rolls his eyes and we continue forward.

I'm almost about to think about how much longer we have to walk, wondering how far Hayven could have gone into the building, when he suddenly holds out a hand to us and we stop. "Here. I think he's in the next room. Get as close to this doorway as possible but don't show yourself and don't make any noise." My body nods, creeping closer and closer to the room without actually stepping into it. I float closer to the door, peeking inside before remembering that I can't even be seen. I float all the way inside.

My breath catches in my throat as I realize that inside the dark room isn't just Hayven, but also several figures surrounding him. I can't hear anything. I couldn't even hear anything back in the tent, but I can only imagine what they're saying to him. For a moment I'm back with Iyana and the Skulled. I can see them pushing her around, I can hear them threatening to murder her just for happening to be inside the hospital when she was. Then I'm back with Hayven, and the feeling's just as bad. I want to help him, but I still can't even fucking talk.

"Don't be ridiculous. If they wanted to hurt him, why would he have come here and why aren't they just doing it?" He sighs. "They're not wearing skull masks so there's a good chance they're not even a part of The Skulled. I can't tell for sure though.. for some reason I'm not able to pull his soul into the gateway with us."

What are the conditions of you being able to do it? Am I interfering somehow?

He shakes his head. "Not enough to make me unable to. I should be able to pull in multiple souls at once, they just have to be within range and they have to be human."

So then why.... Is he.. not human?

"Did he look human before?"

I furrow my eyebrows. I mean as far as I'm aware. But he always was covering his face with his hood anyways, so.. I guess. I don't know...

His look of uncertainty matches my look of concern as we turn back to the gathering of people before us. There only seem to be about four of them besides Hayven. Can't you hear what _they're_ saying?

He looks to me, then to the group. "I can try, but not for long."

His eyebrows knit together in concentration as he stares hard at the figures in front of us. I watch with bated breath as the figures gradually get less and less fuzzy and sound starts returning to my ears. I can't help but relate it to trying to zoom in with a camera. It's far away at first, but soon I can make out words. And then it's like they're right in front of me. It's still dark in the room but I can clearly see their outlines. And clearly hear them talking.

"-ell it's not like we can just walk up to their headquarters and say 'hey stop it,' and then all of a sudden we win." In a way, the voice still sounds kind of echoey, like we're in a dark cave. But it might just be because of the emptiness of the hospital. But this person sounds like a girl except a girl who didn't know the meaning of the word intonation.

"You don't know that! I bet _I_ could take them on," another one pipes up, sounding overly proud of himself for some reason.

"I would love _nothing_ more than to see you go up to their base waving around your weapons and get shot down instantly. I would _love_ that. Please do that." Another girl, but at least she sounds like she's alive inside.

The proud one huffs, crossing his arms I think. "They wouldn't know what hit them. I'd infiltrate their base before they even know that I exist! And then destroy all their shit and leave nothing in its wake! And then rule the world!" The alive girl scoffs.

There's silence then. I'm confused for a second before I remember that I can't hear Hayven talk.

This time, the fourth person speaks up, shifting their weight to their other foot. "Maybe so. But Damien said not to interfere for now. Who knows, maybe the heroes really will take them down before we do.." It sounds like another guy. He kind of reminds me of Phoenix, the way his voice is a bit gentler but louder than the others.

"Damien doesn't always know what's right," the monotone girl adds. "He's good at inferring, but he can't tell the future. He's as human as the rest of us."

"Well, most of us," the proud guy snorts. There's more silence. "Yeah. Okay. I was just joking. So get off my ass."

"Hayven," the gentle one again, "do you know which direction they went in? Maybe we can't actually go there, but we can at least figure out which part of the city it's in."

The monotone says, "Or they just ran in a random direction to throw us off. They aren't that stupid."

"We can use Hayven's nose!" the proud one almost shouts. "If one of them managed to leave behind a cloth or something, Hayven can just sniff it and find them, right?"

Then there's more silence.

"Well it doesn't hurt to try, right? I'm sure there's at least a TRACE, right?? There's no way at least one of them didn't leave behind some blood or something," the proud one continues.

"Well, Hayven's nose might not be able to work, but maybe if we take the trace back to Damien, Happy can search the city for us," the alive girl says. "I'm not sure if Happy will be able to find small traces like that, but it's worth a try, right?"

The kind one hums, heading towards the door. "Alright. Let's split up and look for something to take back. Hayven, you can go back to the tent. We'll tell Damien you're okay."

Wait. Heading towards the door? But but.. my body is at the door!

The man turns to me with a grimace. "Jumper, move, now!"

The bodies in the room pause and stiffen, and I can only imagine what just happened as the room starts to get darker and blurrier.

"What, someone heard us?"

"Fuck, follow th-"

I don't even hear what he's saying next, the man and I are already running/floating after my fleeing body, which does not seem to be fleeing fast enough. I glance back to see several figures leave the room and start heading in our direction. Just my fucking luck, I guess. Well, goodbye to my body. It was nice being corporeal for a while.

"They haven't caught him yet. What's your power again?"

My wind spirits. But they can't really _do_ anything..!

"What do you mean they can't do anything?! You said they saved your life earlier!!"

That was because we got lucky! They can't do shit except blow air sometimes!

"What kind of weirdo are you?? You might as well be an old fashioned human!"

Oh fuck you!

I watch helplessly while my body sprints to get away from the maniacs hunting it down. Several somethings fly through the air, narrowly missing my body but making it stumble in surprise. I can't see much but I know this isn't good. I'm too weak to be running from unseen missiles for some reason, let alone dodging them..!

"You'll be fine! Jumper, duck." My body ducks from an incoming sharp thing. "Left." It barely avoids an oncoming chair being flung at it. Which is terrifying. "Jumper, Jump!" How ironic. "Yeah that's the joke, numbnuts." Damn. So mean!

My body jumps to avoid what can only be described as a ball of darkness that doesn't exist in this universe and can't actually be seen with the human eye. It's like someone cropped out a portion of space and time and threw the cropped out circle at the feet of my running form. It collides with the ground and I watch my body be flung a short distance with the force of the explosion that emanates from it. Just my luck. Fuck!

"Fuck!"

I imagine Jumper is also thinking "fuck!"

Right as my body hits the ground, I feel the world shift around me and pain blossom across my face as I let out a groan. Everything starts to fade out.

"Jumper, get out of his body. We have to go. Now!"

..

I open my eyes, groaning again as something warm and wet trickles down my face. My body feels heavy as I try to push it off of the floor. It's too dark to see anything, but I have I feeling I know where I am.

I feel someone's hand grip my hair and forcefully yank me off of the floor. I scream in pain and try to pull the hand out of my hair to no avail. Once again, I'm a weak little shit.

"How much did you hear..?" I hear the voice of the alive girl from before. "Why did you follow us. Who do you work for?!" She shifts her grip on me and traps me in a choke hold. I gasp, trying to push her away as much as I can, but she keeps me trapped in place. I can barely breathe, let alone speak.

"Kill him!! Let's kill him!" the proud guy almost shouts, finally catching up to us with a jump. He circles around in front of me. He's really short, actually, now that I'm seeing him up close. And he has a sinister smile draped across his face as he holds a knife in his hand. "Let's pull his guts out and feed them to Happy..!"

"Hunter. No. Happy likes to kill his _own_ prey," the girl rolls her eyes.

"Well _I'll_ eat his guts!"

"Technically speaking, it would have a very bad taste," the monotone girl steps closer to us, "as the taste of an animal is largely based on its diet. Humans have a very bad diet, so they wouldn't taste very good at all."

He huffs and puts his hands on his hips, mumbling, "I'd still eat them.."

Then the gentle one walks up to me, leaning down to look me in my eyes. I look back at him with as innocent and as pleading a look as I can muster, silently praying he doesn't decide to pull my guts out after all.

"Hmm," he hums. "He doesn't _seem_ like one of The Skulled."

"Looks can be deceiving," the monotone girl replies.

"Maybe so. Let go of him, Piper. Let the boy speak."

The girl holding me, Piper I guess, scoffs but lets me have my ability to breathe back. I stumble a bit. My legs are itching to run but I just know the same thing would happen again. Once again I'm trapped in a situation where everyone in the room wants to kill me. Except this time I'm the one being held, not the one looking in. I almost feel like crying at the thought of it.

"I-I.. I..." I don't know what to say. I have no idea how I even got myself into this mess. All because I had the AUDACITY to fall asleep, I guess. Seriously what the fuck. What the fuck universe..?? I'm gonna fight you. Prepare to square up if and when I get out of this mess, cause you're gonna have to catch these hands one way or another!

"Hey, are you listening to us?" the girl flicks me on the temple. I yelp and back away from her.

"I.. I don't..."

"Wait," I hear a familiar voice as he walks up behind me. I freeze. Fuck. I forgot he was here. Now he's going to think I'm a villain and allow these guys to kill me. And just when I was starting to have a good relationship with him, too. I whimper. "I think I know this kid... Evan?" Hayven.

I turn around to face him, and I'm about to remind him that I'm actually a 23 year old man, but in place of Hayven's once hard yet gentle face that once was home to a confused but genuine smile... was the huge, furry, terrifying, hungry looking face of a wolf with piercing inhuman red eyes.

I scream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Were you surprised at all with the ending? It only gets more surprising from here!
> 
> Like I said, this chapter is very interesting and important. A lot of these names and words will be popping up later on, and they'll be major plot points, so pay attention! Feel free to already start thinking about what all of this could mean. I'm sure it can't be TOO hard to imagine.
> 
> Also I just think Evan, Phoenix, and Hayven are sooo cute. I love them. Someone give me what they have ahh.
> 
> Next chapter will be out soon! Thanks for reading~!


	5. Mean Words Never Go Unheard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evan tries to get some answers for himself, but just ends up a lot more confused than when he started. And feels more like an asshole.
> 
> ~This chapter is not beta read cause I'm a lazy bitch~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been too long since I updated this and I'm really sorry :(
> 
> At first it was just because I didn't have the motivation to, what with having to go to work for 7 hours a day a couple days a week, then my life just slowly started falling apart, what with the sudden presence of BED BUGS in my room, where I'm the most comfortable with writing. And also how fucking POOR and SAD I am. But it be like that.
> 
> You can read about it in my new journal that I uploaded to this site! :3
> 
> Anyways, back to Evan's fucked up story! I have yet to add any other stories to this series, but don't worry. This story, and the other stories, are still being created and will be finished one day. I think about them probably every day. I WILL FINISH THIS STORY, DO NOT WORRY.
> 
> Unless I somehow suddenly die-

A furred hand clamps over my lips like a vice and my screams are effectively muffled. I try to slap it off, earning me another hand replacing it, this one less furry but no less huge and practically covering my nose as well. I try to slap _that_ one way, only to then be met with another, smaller hand accompanied by a hurried "shhhhhh" noise. I _bite_ that hand.

"Ow!" Piper cries out, pulling her hand away. This time, someone covers _her_ mouth. Serves her right, in my opinion.

My attention is pulled back towards the beast standing on its hind legs in front of me when it suddenly opens its horrible mouth to speak... human words!

"Evan," it says, taking a step towards me and causing me to take a step back, "please, calm down." The similarity of its voice to Hayven's is uncanny and sends a shiver down my spine. For some reason, hearing his voice come out of the wolf in front of me makes me want to puke up all of the tainted hospital soup I've been forced to drink for the past few days, because I'm actually quite sure that there's no way my stomach was able to digest any of the stale water that made it past my lips since then. Which is besides the point, but an important detail for later, I think.

I shake the intrusive thoughts from my head. "Why do you sound like Hayven?!" I almost yell, but don't because I don't want another furry hand on my mouth. The last one left fur on my tongue... Then I pause, a bad feeling settling into my stomach. "Did you.. eat him...?!"

The beasts lips purse, somehow, as it frowns in its weird beastly way. "No. How would that even- how would I get someone's voice by eating them?"

"I don't know!" I respond, taking several more steps back. "I'm learning today that there are actually quite a few people out there with terrifyingly sick powers like that."

The beast pauses, silent for a long while. I take a frightened glance around at the faces of the foes around me, because at this point, everyone's focus is reigned in on me and the beast, like they're watching a car crash happen before their eyes. All either glaring at me with confused disgust or shame that they fail to hide by looking away behind their hands. I can only imagine what criminals like them would have to be shameful about, and I get the urge to run off again but something weird about the situation is forcing me to stay rooted in place.

I'm about to turn back to the wolf, when he starts talking over my own thoughts again.

"Do I really look this terrifyingly sick?"

I'm caught off guard by the question, speechless for a good long while too. I mean it's not that it's a hard question, the answer is resoundingly "yes and please stay away from me you monster of the night," but something about the sad look in his eyes, and the way he just sounds too similar to Hayven keeps the words stuck in my throat. I gulp them down, trying hard and failing to meet the beast's eyes. I'm not a mean guy, I swear. I'm just scared, I promise. I wish I could tell him that, but I'm too uncertain of what he might do if I could. So instead I try to get an answer from him.

"What did you do to Hayven?" I ask quietly, my courage slowly slipping away with each new moment of silence that passes.

The beast looks down, then back up at me, the same sad expression not quite leaving his eyes. Something about his silence makes me feel unsteady. Something truly terrible must have happened to him for this guy to be acting so aloof. And Hayven is a big guy, hard to take down. Just makes me even more uneasy...

One of the people surrounding me, the monotone girl, takes a step towards me that almost makes me jump fifteen feet in the air out of surprise. She speaks gently, like she's talking to a child, but still with barely any intonation at all. "How do you know Hayven?"

I gulp, shrugging. "He tried to kill me once.. and then we just got closer after that I guess.. How do _you_ know Hayven?"

My question goes ignored as the kind sounding one turns to the beast, looking somewhat surprised but also upset, if that's possible. "You tried to _kill_ someone..?"

"Not kill!" the beast responds quickly, "Just.. teach a lesson to..?"

"Did the lesson involve beating up a kid?" Piper asks, crossing her arms and shifting her weight to her other foot.

I purse my lips. "I'm not a kid.."

I once again go ignored as the wolf continues, "Well it wasn't like I meant to.. I just got angry."

The proud one, Hunter I think, laughs loudly, practically prancing around the wolf beast like a little girl picking flowers in a field. "Damien's gonna be pissed when he finds out! You're gonna get in trouble~" he muses in a sing-songy voice.

Gonna be honest here, I'm so confused that at this point I'm just crossing my eyes and trying to hear myself think.

The beasts clasps his hands in front of him in a weird furry plead. "Please don't tell Damien. I made a mistake. And I offered to pay for his hospital bills! I said I was sorry..!"

"Yeah, but you know the rules," the kind one sighs, shaking his head. "We have to report unwarranted crimes to Dame. Maybe he'll go easy on you though?" The beast practically deflates, staring hard at the ground again while wincing, as the kind one turns to the monotone girl. "Ella.. can you remind me to-"

He doesn't get to finish what he's saying before she responds with a simple, "Yes." So her name is Ella. Well, that's useful?? I think??

I shake my head, my thoughts reeling. "Can someone tell me what the fuck is going on here? Who are you people, why are you here.." I pause again, "And where the fuck is Hayven?!"

"Woah!" Piper speaks up, flicking my temple again, "little man here has got some colorful vocabulary! Who taught you those words, huh? Picked it up from school?"

"I'M 23 YEARS OLD!"

I promptly get another hand clamped over my mouth. Which, okay I guess I earned that. But I bite it anyways. This time Hunter is the one pulling back his hand and hissing in pain.

"He's a disgusting biter," he growls, waving his hand in the air as to soothe the discomfort blossoming across his hand.

"We'll answer your questions," the kind one says, and thank god I'm finally not getting ignored, "as soon as you answer the same for us. Excluding the... fucking Hayven part."

"Who said anything about fucking Hayven?" Piper snorts.

"The kid," he points to me.

"I said where the fuck _is_ Hayven." I grit out through my teeth.

"Yeah, same thing, right?" God I wish I could punch someone right now.

"You gonna answer the questions?!" Hunter huffs, obviously getting impatient.

I huff back, turning my nose away from them and closing my eyes for a good long second. Why am I even here in this mess. I should just walk back to the tent right now and go to sleep and forget about having ever met Hayven of Phoenix or anyone ever. If I could turn back time, as they say..

But I might as well, if it will get me answers.. I turn back to them.

"My name is Evan and I'm a guy, I'm here because I was dragged here by some other guy who made my body follow Hayven into the hospital, and I don't want to fuck Hayven."

The kind one nods slowly as he processes my words, then tightens his lips into a weird smile as he replies, "Nice to meet you Evan. I'm Oscar, this is Elizabeth," he motions to monotone, "that's Isabelle," Piper, "that's Georgie," Hunter-

At this point, Hunter, (Georgie??) speaks up, "George! Just George. Stop that!"

Oscar continues, ignoring him, cause apparently he loves to ignore people, and motions to the beast, who's been quiet for most of the time, with somewhat of a sick grin spreading across his face like a global pandemic. "And this," he pauses, looking to the beast, who nods at him, then back to me. "This is Hayven."

I stare.

"Starting to think I should have gathered this information a while back," I muse, putting a hand on my chin.

"Didn't you?" Isabelle asks, ruffling my hair as if I'm a small underclassmen in her high school. I swat her hand away and give her my best glare.

"Well I was starting to," I sigh, "but I didn't really want to believe it.. I guess it makes sense now why I've never seen Hayven's power. If it's.." I turn to Hayven. "This.."

Hayven winces. "Is it that bad?"

"Honestly?" I clench my teeth, looking him up and down for real this time, "I've seen worse. I once saw this guy who could make eyes sprout all across his body? I threw up when I saw that. But I'm not throwing up now! So.." I pause at the look of shame on his face, which is a little hard to tell what with his face not being human anymore, but it's present nonetheless. Suddenly I realize that I really am just talking to Hayven. The guy who I've been so fond of for the past few days, cause he genuinely seems like a good guy. I just called him "not as bad as a guy with eyes all across his body." And who's to say he wasn't already insecure about his power before?

Man I'm just an asshole sometimes..

You don't have to tell me, I literally know. It's why I've never had friends. But more on that later, in the chapter with backstory.

I gulp, feeling like an idiot as I stare down the beast, no, the man in front of me, already feeling a loud apology bubbling up in my throat.

I'm about to open my mouth to let it out, when we all freeze at the sudden sound of footsteps slowly approaching the area we all are. We share the same frightened glance around the room, then everyone besides me quickly scurries to hide behind some piece of furniture or other. Within a millisecond, they're all quietly hiding somewhere, and I'm just standing in the darkness looking like an idiot while a light that was previously bouncing its way down the hallway finally makes its way into the room and shines itself on me.

So yeah I guess I'm fucked now. Honestly good riddance.

"Evan?" I hear a familiar voice call out. It makes the rigidity in my bones instantly melt away, but I stay in place just in case, hey that rhymed, something else bad were to happen if I move.

"Phoenix," I call back, relieved, as he extinguishes the fire in his palm and makes his way over to sweep me into a tight hug. I feel warm and comforted as I cling to him, thankful that he arrived. Not like I felt my life was in danger.. but something about having a professional hero with you makes you feel like nothing bad could ever happen when you're together.

That's the reason I feel this way, I think. I mean I should know, it's my own feelings.

He pulls away and puts his hands on my shoulders as he's looking me up and down with a worried expression on his face. I almost smile. At least someone was worried about me more than I was worried about myself.

"Are you okay? What are you even doing here?" His hands move up to tangle in my hear, sending warm shivers up my spine. Which is a pleasant switch from the constant ones going down it. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

I shake my head and smile at him. "I'm fine, Phoenix. I just.. sleep walked." I pause again, "and sleep talked to myself." I realize what I'm saying is weird, and I probably will having Phoenix constantly thinking I can sleep walk and sleep walk to myself forever, but something tells me I'd rather have that than for him to think I was here meeting with potential villains as they planned to track down.. another villain's organization. So I guess I'm sticking with it.

"But I'm glad you're here," I continue. "I was getting scared.."

He smiles back and nods, then turns to face the room around us and looks around with an alert expression. "Where's Hayven? Do you know?"

I consider the question, pursing my lips as I do. "No," I answer quietly. "Was he not still with you?"

He shakes his head and answers a quiet "No," as he puts a hand in the small of my back while leading me towards the room's exit. "Let's get out of here, this place has some bad energy in it that I can't put my finger on."

I nod and follow along, but not without looking back at the room one last time as we leave it, only to see a single red eye, human, watching me leave. A hint of sadness hidden behind its pupils. And still I feel terrible.

~~

When we got back to the tent later that night, Phoenix and I curled up together and slept, but Hayven never returned. I didn't see him around anywhere the next morning either, and even as I'd finally gotten my jaw wiring back in place, and let me tell you, right now my jaw literally feels like it's on fire and is itchy and sore and painful and makes me want to rip my jaw off of my face forever, Hayven was nowhere to be seen when I was finally discharged from the hospital I'd been moved to. He still paid for it, somehow. So thank goodness for that.

But I can't fight off the sinking feeling in my stomach as I step out of the hospital and back into the real world. I'm accompanied by my dad, since mom is at home still taking care of Iyana, both probably still reeling from the shock of everything. I've more or less over it by now. I've acknowledged that something bad happened, but that I'm lucky enough to still have mine and my little sister's lives, so I guess I should be grateful. I guess..

The evening sun glints off of my dad's glasses and into my eyes, making me squint and look away from him as we make our way from the hospital to the car. One of my wind spirits lands just on the bridge of my nose to look my in the eyes, I guess. Hard to tell what they're thinking. I wonder what life would be like if they could talk. Instead I just reach out a finger and pet it on the head gently as it purrs into my skin.

"How is your jaw feeling?" he asks me, not exactly turning in my direction as he does.

I shrug, "Bad," I manage to say. "Shouldn't have broken them. Honestly don't know why I even did. I guess adrenaline just does things to you."

He nods with a short him, "That it does. Some say it can make you lift up cars."

"I thought that was a myth."

"Well, maybe," this time it's his turn to shrug. "But I'd say that it made you do some pretty heroic things to save your little sister." Then he smiles and turns to me, a proud look in his eyes that makes my body feel warm from the inside. "I'm proud of you," he even says, "you did a good thing."

I smile back, turning away as a light blush blossoms across my face. "Well, it was nothing. I just wanted to make sure she was safe. She's my family after all. I care about her." I sigh. "I care about all of you guys."

"Still," he continues, "what you did just shows me how much of an adult you are now." Even as he says that, he reaches out to ruffle my hair in a familiar way he hasn't done since just before I turned 18. "I'd always been thinking you were still a kid inside. But I might have been wrong. You've still grown." He considers for a while. "You just act stupid."

I lightly punch his arm, acting mock offended. "Act?? How dare you. I _am_ stupid."

At this we both laugh softly. He leans against the car as we arrive at it, clearly wanting to prolong our talk. I stand in front of him and wait for him to continue.

"At this point, I think I can stop worrying about you moving out. Maybe you'll be able to take care of yourself after all."

"Of course I will," I roll my eyes, "I know how to cook and clean and stuff. I'm just bad at it. Besides, I'm still not moving out yet so don't kick me out. If I don't have my parent's cooking at home, is it even really home?"

This earns me another chuckle as he shakes his head. "No, I guess it isn't. But someday you'll have kids of your own that will think the same thing, you know. And then you'll have to make your own home for them."

I furrow my eyebrows. "Who said I want kids?"

"If you don't give me grand kids, I'm disowning you," he answers simply.

"Daaad," I groan.

"I'm kidding!" he snickers, "slightly. Might just have to hypnotize you into wanting them."

"Dad! Illegal..!"

"Not if your mother's not around!"

I groan again and slap his arm, then head towards the passenger side door as he walks around. "The wind spirits are enough for me. Take it or leave it."

"You're gonna change your mind one day!" he responds as he opens the car doors and sits inside, buckling himself up. "And when you do, I don't care if you adopt or you give birth-"

"Dad?" I raise an amused eyebrow.

"But as long as you love and care for them the same way I've loved and cared for you.." he turns to me with another gentle smile on his lips, "you're going to be a just fine father one day."

I smile back again and shake my head. "Nice way of tooting your own horn."

"Well it's true! You turned out just fine." The car starts up as he shifts it from parked to reverse. "Just follow in my footsteps and maybe one day your son will save your daughter too."

I'm silent for a while as we begin moving.

"Was Iyana okay?" I ask quietly, not sure how to ask it just yet. Everything seems like it happened just a few hours ago, which it basically actually did. The wound of the situation is starting to heal, but the thought that Iyana might still be in shock from it upsets me and makes me feel unsettled. If she doesn't greet me at the door with a kick to the shins, is she even really my sister at this point? I couldn't imagine it. I don't _want_ to imagine it. I want my sister to be the same.

He sighs, shrugging again. "Iyana is.. better than she was last night. She's just still a little shocked..." Then he gently nudges me with his elbow. "But hey, she respects you now..! Maybe no more fighting around the house, right?"

I look out the window and lean back against my chair, my eyelids suddenly feeling heavy as all hell. "I guess.." I answer, already falling asleep. Car rides always make me sleepy for some reason. But I don't hate that. I could use a real nice forever nap right about now.

As I drift off, my mind drifts back to the situation I found myself in just last night. I still have so many questions for that group of.. villains? Criminals? Just a group of people, even? Like why did they need to know about The Skulled's hideout? Who's Damien? And what was Hayven doing hanging out with them..? I feel like I learned nothing and just have even more questions than I got answers. I should have asked different questions I guess.. now all I know is their names and also.. wait no I didn't even find out why they were there! Piece of shit! I messed up royally that time god damn it. Motherfucker I'm an idiot. Maybe I really am still just a child inside.

Slowly my thoughts devolve into images of chickens raiding schools for meal worm pieces, but just as I fall into darkness, my mind conjures up the image of Hayven's eyes as I call him a terrifyingly sick beast. I feel like an asshole right before my thoughts stop thinking. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoohoo, hooray more story completed! Bet you're confused. Worry not, the next chapter will be out... eventually! Life just be that way sometimes. Bed bugs are hard to deal with :))
> 
> Thanks so much for reading and I really would appreciate comments from you guys!
> 
> And actually, would you mind maybe checking out my journal at some point? I hate advertising, but I want to use the journal as a way to really talk with you guys and give you updates on things that might be impacting my uploading to this site. Plus.. I really just like talking to you guys! Some of the chapters are just random information, like my story times, but other ones are updates, so it's a liiitle important. Don't have to if you don't want to, but just letting you know it's there for if you ever are wondering what's taking me so long to update. Chances are, the answers are right there in that journal!! :D
> 
> See you next chapter.


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